If you don't mind considering a recommendation from one of the co-authors of an ODE textbook, you sound like just the sort of student that we had in mind when we wrote "Differential Equations, Mechanics, and Computation". There is a Companion Website for our text at "http://vmm.math.uci.edu/ODEandCM/ where you will can find freely downloadable pdf files of more that half the book, including the entire introductory section, from which you can judge whether you want to use this as your introduction to ODE. A major consideration in writing the book was that it should be "easy" to read for a dedicated student looking for a conceptual introduction to the subject. The book was published by The American Mathematical Society in December 2009, and was reviewed the Mathematical Assoc. of America here: http://www.maa.org/maa_reviews/0211102.html Good luck with learning a truly beautiful subject, and my hope our book helps you. Richard Palais