As a beginner, it is the good option to learn python first. since it is a user understandable language, we can understand every command not like another stuff java. so before going to learn python, its better to learn applications of it.

Applications of python programming:

          Personally I think, you get a lot of choices.
Since you are Python beginner, the small project may bring more benefits to you.

For web crawler:
Currently, the data analysis is very hot, so you can write some crawler to  get the data from pure html not api to practice your Python skill. You can also use some library like  "BeautifulSoup" Beautiful Soup Documentation to help yourself.
 For Web development:
You can have a try on some python web frameworks, like Django, Flask, Web2py, Pylons, Zope2, Giotto, CubicWeb...... to build some websites to make a practice.

For Data Structure or Classic Algorithms:
You can implement some famous and useful Data Structure in Python, something like "SegmentTree", "Red-Black Tree", "Trie", "SuffixTree", "IntervalTree"......, and make the Python Egg, and release it to PyPI to make it can be used by all Python programmers around the world.

For Plugin:
You can build some SublimeText Plugins in Python, something like PHP-Auto-Dollar-Sign..., and release to world to benefit all SublimeText users around the world.

For Library:
You can create some wrappers for some API, something like, you can develop a Python OAuth library(A lot of OAuth libs now), or develop a wrapper for Facebook Graph API, or a wrapper for Locu API...... Again, make the Python Egg, and release it to PyPI to benefit all Python users.

For Data Science:
If you have some knowledge on machine learning and artificial neural network, you can implement some algorithms to build your own Python machine learning library.

For Networking:
You can use Python to implement some protocols, something like, SMTP, FTP, HTTP (you can also build your own HTTP Web Server or load balancer).

For Cryptology:
You can implement some encrypt and decrypt library, something like, RSA, RC4, DES......
Or you can also write some script to break some cipher...

For Computer Vision:
You can have a try on "OpenCV for Python" library to build some tinny computer vision system, something like face detection.

For AI:
You can implement some AI algorithms to build your own game, something like, you can implement Alpha-Beta Pruning Search for Tic-Tac-Toe.

For Game:
You can build your own Game Bot manually.

Addition:
I don't know your knowledge set. But you can use anything in your knowledge set to build some interesting thing by Python or other languages. For example: If you are very familiar with US Children Stories, you can collect a lot stories, and use machine learning knowledge and NLP to build a system to analyze the pattern or mode of these stories, to find something interesting.

source:Quora