I guess I've been playing for about 10 years now.  I still feel like a beginner some times.  After about 2 years of playing, I realized that either i suck tremendously or I'll get it one day.  Either way, I was still passionate about playing.  I always kept my guitar and there was a time period where I just picked it up once in a while  or it was a phase thing where I'd get in the mood and play a lot and then put it down for a few months.  Then a couple of years ago, I found this site and my learning curve spiked.  All I did was simply play a song on my CD, find the song on here and play along.  My advice is:  you are going to be learning for the rest of your life and there is absolutely no rush what so ever.  There will always be people so much better that you and you will always play better than so many people too.  Just play because you enjoy it!