My past with engineering!

Ever since I was younger I had a knack for figuring out how things work. Usually it didn't really work but hey I was probably around 6 or 7. I have always been quite an observer. Often I would spend several minutes looking at some type of machinery just to try and figure out how each part moved. If it ended up breaking I would try and recall how each part moved to figure out how to fix it. As I continued to grow up I still felt the same way, but I didn't really know how to get started. I feel now that the best way to get started is to just get up and try and build something or take something apart to get a good understanding about how it works. One thing I want to do is build something whether its a hovercraft, a go-cart, a quad copter, an electric skateboard or any thing that has to do with building or engineering this summer, but I am still quite stuck on where to begin. I know google is a good place because of the large variety of resources, but I can never find specific instructions or classes that would benefit me and help me learn everything that I need to learn in order to accomplish what I want to. I guess this story is actually just a way for asking for any advice or words of wisdom for a girl who is trying to learn about the variety of things that the engineering world has to offer.
Thanks and Goodbye.