Sure you can discover astronomy all on your own.  But it will be a tough journey and you will probable make some unfortunate purchases whilst collecting your gear.

The best advice I could give you is to go get other people’s advice !  I started off myself joining a number of online forums and now recently joined a local club called AstroVega.  Real life experiences from other other people, learning from their mistakes and finding the best spots to observe from.

I realise this is an ultra short post, but it does contain the best advice ever: JOIN A CLUB !