Dedicated/addicted guitarists of AGC, I'd like any advice?

Hey everyone. I think the chances are slim, but I’m hoping any of you might have any advice for me here.

Lately I've really got into guitar big time over the past month. I don't think I've ever wanted to play it more then I do now, I'd just kill to be able to sit there and play it all day every day. But here's the thing, I got pretty good at one point. Then after my music performance exam way back I got stressed and didn't even want to look at it. Now, after long and lazy break of only playing now and then, I feel like I want to do nothing but practice it for fun and get back off square one.

And I was. But now I'm at college. The problem is the hours are so long. I leave home at 7am and don't come back until 5 - 6pm. I don't know what to do now, I'm either too tired when I return, bombarded with assignments or I have a pick of old friends complaining to me online about how I don't talk to them much anymore and how all I ever do is paint, go to college, and get this, they're mad at me most for the time I spend with my guitar now. And I only do 5 or so hours on my Sunday off and one if I’m lucky the rest of the week. Now I really don’t want to get out of the habit I was enjoying. I mean, I’ve got two more years of enduring the same hours of college. Has anyone else had this sort of problem? Did you somehow manage to get enough time to practice?

Edit: Sorry, I should've also pointed out I stopped painting and all other artwork so I could try to play my guitar and a bit of harmonica more often, so that's not a factor anymore.

@ Heather,
hmmmmmm same problem but different reason. Work! yeah the four letter word. i spend as much time as you do and get home about the same time as you. Solution? haha I wish I had a good one for you. but I don't. You have to make choices sometimes that you don't want to make. So i see my friends less often. I don't go out as much. I stay up later, all so I can have some time alone with the guitar. It isn't easy, so you have to make some unpopular choices if you really want to play well. And you can't play well unless you dedicate the time.
Phipster

Aye, work... kids... wife... darn, they all four letter words XD... anyway, there is no solution for this. I had a gig couple weeks ago and after that ive not touched my guitar (soz, I actually petting it at one evening.*embarassed*. I have this strange habit...), not even think about any composing or music or anything, just did other things I had to.

I believe, that its useless to play or practise without inspiration. But this is happen to me before so... I can wait to get my inspiration back.

But one advice I can give, do not stop painting and other artworks... they could give you emotions or inspirations that you can express them by melodies...time for the guitar will come for sure and you are still quite young. When this time come, you are not bored to it and practise is efficient. Just keep playing. Occasionally or more often.

Empirism

Hi Heather, welcome to life!

Sorry, but unfortunately things like this will happen that can affect your playing and practice regime. When I was at sixth form college I was leaving the house at 7:30 and getting back about 5:45, by which point I was knackered. The thing I did to get round it though was to take my guitar with me and practice at college during the day. I'm assuming that, like me, you have a fair amount of spare time in your timetable, where you're not being taught or expected to be anywhere in particular? If you're studying music in your AS levels then your teacher shouldn't have any problems with you using the practice rooms or classroom if no-one else is there already. If you're not studying music, go and see the head of music anyway and explain your situation; if they're any sort of decent human being they should be able to understand your situation and help you out in some way.
The one consellation is that if you choose to study music at uni or a specialist college after A-levels (or BTEC if that's what you're doing) you will be EXPECTED to practice your guitar AMAP. I'm going into my second year of music at Liverpool University and I love doing it for that reason!

Hope that all helps,
Afro

I took Music at college and I was lucky enough to have the luxury of playing it whenever I wanted, on top of using the booths when no one else was there. If you've chosen other subjects that aren't music then I assure you - it will definitely hinder your playing. Especially if it's AS 'cause they just expect you to do crap load of homework instead of your usual life. My travel took three hours ontop of the actual class time, so it took me a very long time to get back home and do some serious practicing - but again, I took music, so I was still better off.

About your friends – they come and go... I’m sorry to say. But the friends that usually stick are the ones from College and Uni.

well if you want something to listen to to get some ideas try the new dethklok album or something like nobuo uematsu (which i share this interest with jazzy!!!)

Edit: i also suggest this to all of you when "Dethalbum II" comes out
i have it cus freind gave to me

Ouch, Heather! {Another four letter word. :P)
Like the Finn guy (Empirism) said, I suggest you don't give up painting. It's your choice, of course, but I don't think it would be good to stop painting. I imaagine there are going to be times when you'll not feel like painting, but will Love playing guitar and vice-versa, so... do the maths yourself.
And I agree with what Jazzy said about friends: they come and go. I mean, I know stories about life-long friends, but come on, how many of those are out there? So, I SUGGEST (you have to make the choices yourself) you sacrifice some "friend's time" for some "guitar time". You know, I don't work, I only go to High School, and I only go out like once or twice in two weeks because I just figured I can live without it.
As Afro said: Welcome to life!
But with some loads of work you can probably get a fraction of Carl's collection and a lot of pleasure with it, assuming you're not willing to spend so much effort about it, having other priorities.
I hope I could help. :D

Find a balance between friends, studies, and practice. If you enjoy practicing more than talking to friends back home, you should consider spending more time practicing than talking to friends back home. Its as simple as that. Its up to you whether your balance be comfortable or not. Im sure that the best of artists don't have enjoyable schedules in their early life, which is my theory of why so many songs are about loneliness.

Thanks everyone! This all really helped me. Emp, I'll try to keep up the artwork, when I read your post I noticed it was usually when I do my artwork that I get compositions and mixed emotions running around in my head. And it's okay, I've been known to just stroke my guitar plenty of times too, glad to here I'm not the only one!

@Phip I'll try to stay up a tinsy bit later to play, only problem with me is If I don't go to bed pretty early I'm in a coma the next morning!

@Jazz and Afro, thanks that was reassuring. I didn't take music, I received too much drama from my GCSE teacher to ever want to go through that again (In fact, nobody in that class took it again ha). I do get an awful lot of free time…perhaps too much really. I’ll wait another week, if I’m still struggling to practice long enough I’ll ask the music department if they’ll help me out. And by now my old friends who went elsewhere have about slipped away from me. And if anyone’s curious I took a fulltime ND in animal management (I want to help conserve gharial crocodiles for a living). Gosh, if this is what is life is going to be like (separating me from my guitar) feel free to shoot me now! :P

Sorry Mici and Kelleman! I got distracted feeding ducks while making the last post (yes, I sound like such a ball of fun don't I?) and I forgot to refresh the page. That made me think some more, I do prefer playin gthen tlaking to friends. I shouldn't just go ahead and do what they want me to do, especially when they're not thinking of what I want. And my social life's not so bad anyway, I still have fun with quite a nummber of old and new people in college. Plus, I think some of my old friends are starting to let go of me now anyway.