I will admit that starting programming on your own as a newbie can seem a bit daunting. However after toying around very basically in both Python and currently C++ I'm wondering if C may be more suitable for a hobbyist. By hobbyist I mean someone who foresees no real future in actually programming for a living but rather sees it (at least currently) as an interesting exercise. So while I would like to be able to do things I'm don't really see myself y'know making a 3d game engine.
I know that I don't NEED to learn C to learn C++. But from what I've read a couple of people have said that C is easier to learn because it's a smaller language. It seems like it would be more suitable to me given that, and I know that C is certainly fine for anything I'd want to do with it, and thus not really need to learn or use it as a stepping stone for C++. From what I can see C would be a) Easier to program with, meaning easier to get in and make things and keep one interested. b) lower level means more flexibility, whereas Python would be hindered perhaps by it's high level nature. C) Still widely used (though perhaps not to the extent of C++)
A lot of people ask about learning C to get to C++ but I'm wondering more about C's own merits in and of them self. I wonder if what I'm thinking is true or if I've been filled with misconceptions. Thanks for any help :)
You're looking at this wrong.  What's your goal?  If your goal is to "learn a language" then you are wasting your time.  That is like investing your time into learning to use photoshop with no ambition to ever create any neato graphics.
Instead of focusing on the tool, focus on what you want to do with it.  If I learn how to use a power saw it's probably because I want to build something out of wood, not because I think power saws are just really awesome.
Ask yourself; what do I want to build?  Once you answer that then you set forth finding out which tools would be most appropriate.
Learning programming as a hobbyist... the merits of C vs C++