Effect > Distort & Transform greyed out as well as many others

Hi y'all, new to illustrator, and have been trying to figure out why when I go try to go under "Effect" many of my options are greyed out, inlcuding the one I am trying to apply to a simple shape, "Distort & Transform". Any help in the right direction is greatly appreciated, been trying to figure this one out for a minute and am sure it is a simple fix! Thanks so much.