Is it good idea to become self taught while in college?

Hello, I will elaborate on this

I will go back to college in a few days and the program seems to focus on Java, sql, and backend (at least for what I can tell) I am fairly new to programming in general so I wouldn’t exactly know where all these classes could take and what jobs/career paths I could find (for anyone interested, is Algonquin college: Computer Programming and Data Analysis in Canada)

I know that for whatever I do in my program, I should study on my own, make projects and study since the program on its own won’t be enough

But that’s not what I meant in the title. I also have an interest in learning web development (getting a MacBookpro so I can start the Odin project) and also I recently started getting into ai and would love to start with python

The thing is, is it a good idea to start learning these things on my own right away and during my time at this program while also keeping up and going beyond what my classes offer?

To be honest since I don’t know a lot about programming sometimes I feel lost and don’t know what goal I should set exactly, there are a lot of career paths out there that sound interesting (web development, machine learning, cybersecurity) but I am unsure on how to finally dive deep into one of them and not feel like I wasted my time? Guess I am just nervous about not being able to pick something that I truly enjoy and could create a successful career with

I love programming, I just don’t know where to start since everything is so cool, but I am interested in trying to learn python and web development on my own while doing a completely different thing in college

Thanks a lot, any advice is appreciated, this now feels like venting haga