New and don't know where to start

I don't have a gun yet, have never even fired one, but as a small single woman who is by myself most of the time in a world that seems a little more like jumanji everyday I'm starting to seriously consider it.But I have no idea where to start. My local gun store only has concealed carry classes but that feels like jumping straight into the deep end, like I'm skipping a step somewhere. Can I even take a class like that without taking some sort of basics class first? Should I already own a gun before the class? And how do I go about picking a gun? I'm 5'2, female and basically have the arm strength of 2 pool noodles so I'm worried about recoil. How often do guns need to be cleaned? How often should I go to a range? I'm not looking to pick shooting up as a hobby, it sounds expensive but I still want to know what I'm doing.I know nothing about anything. Any information or advice would be appreciated. I live in Florida, if that helps. via /r/CCW https://ift.tt/30bWGZq