i have picked up a guitar hundreds of times, tried to arrange my fingers in some way on the fretboard to make a pleasing sound, and in turn it equaled the pleasantness of a goat in distress. i thought that instrument would be impossible. but i wanted more than anything to learn how to play... i grew up playing the violin, cello, and piano. string instruments were my thing. so why couldn't the guitar? why did the guitar have 500 different chords to learn and 500 more strumming patterns to choose from? and changing from chords to chords, are you kidding me? i thought it would never happen. but for christmas i got a really good guitar. a taylor 114ce acoustic/electric. it's beautiful and sounds incredible. and damn it, i was determined to learn this beast. for the past 4 months i have taken a class at school and learned some of the basics. however the professor wasn't very good, he tended to be more discouraging than anything. the beginning was the worst. how the strings would cause extreme pain to my fingers (until callouses formed) and the awkwardness on spacing my fingers for various chords. but yesterday i realized, as i struggled with transitions between new chords, that i have come a long way. i can play several songs, i know A TON of chords (majors, minors, and dominants). i signed up for private lessons with a music store next door to me to continue now that this class has ended. and even though my transitions are rough with some chords still and i don't know everything about the guitar just yet, i'm on my way. and now i don't have to feel intimidated to go into a guitar store. :)