Hello,
Not that much older than you and I can relate to not knowing what to do. I started out with a stock Liberty and currently own a "one-of-a-kind" Jeep. This Jeep thing is very addictive. Once you start, you'll never stop. I currently run a Daystar lift on my Liberty and have since September 2010. It does the job and get me over obstacles when off-roading. Started out at four inches (front) and three inches (rear). Now I am currently little over two inches all around. The Daystar lift was installed on OEM suspension parts that had 54,XXX miles at the time of installation. Now I have 76,000 miles on the OEM suspension parts, along with the Daystar lift. Mind you, the Jeep was bought in June 2009 with 32,XXX miles. So yes, I have driven the crap out of it. It's still running and getting me from point A to point B. Regular and preventative maitenance will keep these Jeeps going for a long time.
My Jeep has come a long way. There's nothing I regret doing to my Jeep. I've had a blast driving and wheeling it. My Liberty is my only daily driver and will continue to be for awhile. Everything I know about the Liberty is research, reading, studying and LOST Jeeps. 99% percent of everything I know is from here. It's a great site. So do some studying, reading and researching before you dive head first into this Jeep thing. If you can, go to some local Meet&Greets members host. I drove 7hrs+ to tommudds for a Meet&Greet. Hope everything works out for you. Most important thing is have fun with the Jeep.
Here is my Jeep the day it was bought.

This is currently what it looks like. Nothing fancy on it. Just some good tires.



