I think I bought the wrong bike A few weeks ago I decided I would start commuting by bike since I live in a central location in a fairly bike-friendly city (mainly to campus, work, gym, etc), through roads, and trails that are not always in great shape. So I went out and bought a used Kent Sierra Madre in good shape for $140 at a local bike shop, which turned out to be a comfort bike. 

My mistake was not looking up this bike before buying it, and not even knowing what a comfort bike was (I just assumed it was a hybrid and did not know it was a comfort bike until I got home and googled it, woops). It's a good bike, it's comfortable to ride, stable and does what it's supposed to do I guess, but it's definitely not clicking with me. I feel like all the weight, the very upright riding position, suspension, and wide tires are making my pedaling way too inefficient, I can't go as fast as I want to go. 

In hindsight I wish I had continued searching in other bike shops and gotten something like a touring bike, which I think would fit my needs a lot better than the Kent comfort bike. I know I didn't spend a lot on it, but I'm a student and my budget is tight, so buying another bike is something I should consider very carefully. 

Any thoughts on how to best approach either getting used to this bike, getting another one, reselling, etc? Has anybody had any experience with this model or with comfort bikes in general and would like to share experiences with them? If I did decide to buy another bike, would a touring bike fit my needs more than a road bike?
First thing is ( as suggested by @whatsisname )go back to the shop and ask for an exchange, explaining why. Worst happens is they say no.  

Presuming they say no, have a conversation about about finding a way to get you onto a bike that suits better.  You will essentially have have two choices - try to make the bike suit you better, which will almost certainly have limited success, or write it down to experience, sell the bike for what you can get for it and buy something more suitable. Keeping in mind the total cost of the bike, I do not recommend spending money making it fit better - it will only ever be a comfort bike. 

Free stuff - things like seat height and handle bar height. If the bike shop that sold it to you will not take it back, they should make some adjustments for you (If not, put the cost down to experience and find a better bike bike shop).

Looking at the picture of the bike a few thoughts-  the rear spring/shock will be gobbling up power as you pedal. Tighten the preload as much as you can (or replace the 'shock' with a solid tube).  The effective top tube length (The tube that goes from the seat to handle bars) appears very short. This gives a very upright riding position which is less than ideal for speed (but good for comfort). Not much can be done to change this - putting the seat back as far as it will go, and lowering the handle bars might help a little. 

Pump up the tires to a reasonable pressure. Check sidewall for max pressure. Play with pressure starting at highest on side wall and lowing it a few PSI at a time till you find a sweat spot of comfort vs rolling resistance.