Welcome to the journey then. It's a fun, fairly cheap hobby. If you can figure this engine out you can simply scale up and pretty much figure out any automotive thing other than the latest electronic BS. 2016 and below roughly.
I started the other way around but to each their own. If you love it genuinely, find a older car that needs some work and fix it up. It's generally worth it (especially these days with the car market how it is). I pays off big time how to change your own oil, replace suspension components, replace head gaskets, valve cover gaskets, belt and belt related components, differentials, brakes, seals, axles, motors, etc. Unless you're a lawyer that makes more than mechanic rates (around 100$/hr these days) it's worth it in the end.
If you wanna get into specific engine details that's another story but also not super difficult.