Welcome and congrats on your first shaves. I myself dove in deep. I tried to do a three pass shave my first time, with a razor I had honed myself. It was barely sharp enough to remove hair. It was a disaster.

I have a 2.5 inch strop, and I wish it was bigger. The only down side to investing in a nice strop in the beginning is that you will nick it, but some contact cement will fix that. Good Luck!