From experience, I'd say don't do it. I bought a Giant Escape in may 2014 and I had the same thoughts as you, I would upgrade it and play. I ended up changing out the entire drivetrain. I kept it to 9 sp. but I bought used parts and new old stock parts. I spent around $400 on parts for a bike that I paid around $500 for (I bought an Escape 1).

I knew from the get go that it was a losing proposition, but for me, it was fun to do and play. It was my first bike in 20 years. Anyway, that project just got me started and I wanted more....so I bought a new frame and set off to build it up. I'm on my second drive train on that bike now. I started with a 10sp and now I'm onto 11 sp. And then I got another bike. So now I have 4 of them, LOL....it's n+1 and it can get expensive fast. For me, it was about learning and playing. If that's your goal, then great, do it! If your goal is simply to learn about wrenching, take yours apart and put it back together. It achieves the same thing with no cost.

Or, you could just ride yours for a year and then decide what you want to do. That's the smart choice but don't take that advice from me, I don't always make the smart choice. I always just jump in head first.