A lower aperture gives shallow/less depth of field.
Say a person or item is in front of you, it will be extremely sharp. Like the toy dog in the background. Everything else is blurry, that's the Bokeh effect. Some lenses have the more blurry effect and some do less. There's a reason you get a 18-55 Kit lens, you practice. Then you choose if you want Macro, zoom lenses or wide etc. The kit lens is just to "know" your camera and what you can do:P
Photography is a fun hobby. It's just like cars, to get the most out of your car, you've gotta upgrade. Same with photography. Here are many shots taken with 35mm, you can easily tell why it's a good Prime lens for everyday stuff. The settings are mentioned under the picture, makes it easier to replicate them:)
http://www.pixel-peeper.com/lenses/?lens=13142