What I learned from photography so far and after reading couple of technical books:
1) It is not as easy as it may seem.
2) It is about doing the right thing. This means that you need to be careful and selective about what you capture .. the moment .. what it represents .. why it is important .. how it will be perceived and understood by audience and by you when you reflect upon it .. etc.
3) It is about doing things right. This means that you should understand the technicalities very well to make the best use of it and avoid spending tons of time optimizing stuff without knowing the theories behind it. There is no much room for trial and error.
4) There is the Auto option .. but if you want to be really innovative and impress yourself as well as others you need to get deep in fundamentals.
5) It is fun and it gives you opportunities to think and reflect. Be careful though because taking too many photos may misguide you and work against the reflection

It is interesting because when you are at the beginning of a career/hobby and you are humble enough to know that there is so much to learn, you reflect back on your actual career and realize that whatever you do you still can dig deeper and get better at such an endless ocean.

Conclusion: You need to carefully aim and – even more carefully – shoot!