I attend a few Real Estate Investment clubs as well as host some myself. 

Attend your local REIA meetings and network with people there. 

I am looking forward to attending the BP and CFREI meetup to actually get to meet some people with similar goals and interests, but for now I feel almost lost and that fear of the unknown keeps creeping up on me when I least expect it.Either way, I am going to keep trucking along, but I wanted to start up a possible discussion with the community to at least have a chance to talk to people going through something similar or people that have gone through it and came out on top.

@Jeffrey Scott Helms --Attend the Charlotte Deal Maker Sessions, which meets once a month.

I actively attend many different meetings in the Baltimore Area, though I am working to expand to the DC area.

You can also find these on meetup.com, just type in Real Estate Investing or attend your local REIA group. 

I am 75% sure that I will attend your event.

Ideally I'd like my first deal to be a WHOLESALING and grow more comfortable with that process before I attempt a FLIP.STEPS I'VE TAKEN: Aside from writing this exhaustive intro about myself I've attended my local REI group in Sept 2018.

Attend all the local real estate investor meetings that you can, and there are a ton in the Chicago area.

Also find some REI Meetup's and attend those, make as many connections as you can.