New to Java

I've scoured Google with this search query and asked a friend who is working on his Computer Science major, but I can never seem to get a straight answer. The best I've gotten, example-wise, is Runescape and a couple of GUI function plotting programs. But I know Java has to have some major uses, otherwise why would there be so many people who are obviously using it for SOMETHING?

I want to learn a(nother) major programming language...very badly. So far, I've taught myself HTML in my Myspace fad and calculator programs on my TI-83 in the back of Algebra-2. But these were so easy to learn for me because I actually knew what I was supposed to be using them for...right now, with all these Java tutorials, I feel like I'm walking around with a catalytic converter. I know it goes somewhere in the car, but I've no idea where or why.

So what can I do with Java? What sort of amazingness can be the product of some hard work and luck? I understand that most Java works are undertaken by teams of programmers, but I know there has to be some stuff that can be accessible for a bored high school grad with a heavy interest. Or am I maybe in the wrong place? Should I start with Pascal or PHP and work my way up? I kinda just threw myself into the programming world with little to no knowledge of it.

I'm sure you get these kinds of posts all the time, but I thank you a lot for your help. My brain is so fried from trying to figure this out on my own. @___@;