Well I'm sure more "experienced" people will come in and lend a hand but this is what I do. And I too, am coming from a BB, so I feel your pain.
I go into messages>>New message>>start typing the name>> click on it and there u go. So yes, WAAAAAY more steps than a bb, but u'll start zipping thru it in no time. I'm sure u can add widgets, etc, but for me, i text a lot of DIFFERENT ppl so to have me "choose" most commons would help but wouldn't help me with making ALL texting that quick and easy.