I would like to share the motivating reason of buying my first camera.
In 1965 I was a 14 year old in school and a classmate brought a nice looking camera to school. I requested him to allow me to hold it and get a feel. In short he told me to Get Lost.I decided at that moment to buy my own camera asap.
Six years later I got my first stipend in a company .I used almost the entire stipend and bought a Agfa click 3 camera which used 120 film.I got it devloped and printed from a studio close by.He charged me a bomb.A few more stipends and I bought the All in one Camera book by W D Emanuel ,a developing tank,trays , contact printer,developer ,fixer etc and I could expose the film and make prints at home.
It was fun then and still is today.
It would be nice to hear from you how you started this beautiful hobby or business
Peter

I use back button focusing, single focus point, manual, spot metering most of the time. Yet, when at far end, at 300 mm, most of the time, the lens won't focus, there's no little beep, just blurry mountain treelines when I zoom in - that don't resolve into sharpness. Little black square in viewfinder fixed. Sometimes the problem clears when I turn off the camera, D5500, and then put it back on. .... I try manual focus.... ok; but the ring simply wants to turn forever. Shouldn't there be a stop, a limiter, on each end of the range? Does it sound like the ring is broken? I did notice yesterday the switch on the side of the lens had somehow gotten in between AF and M. I figured that must have been the issue, but when it happened today, too, the button was fully in AF...and then fully in M.

What do you folks think could be the problem?

Two more full days here in Shenandoah; hope there's a quick, good answer!