To answer this question for yourself, you'd first have to know what your goals in taking Guitar lessons are - it's okay if you don't really know beyond "I always wanted to try it", and if that's your story, then try it, by all means. You'll have realized your immediate goal just by finding a teacher and taking the leap, and that's realistic.

Whatever your goals might be, it may be a good idea to have a realistic look at your lifestyle to determine if you have the time and energy to make a genuine commitment to achieving them. If you're driven to succeed, you already know this, and you're hard at it... so adding Guitar lessons should be no sweat, right? Maybe. Can you set aside time to practice regularly? Will the demands of your job (or your school workload) cause you to have to cancel lessons frequently? These are primary factors to consider IF your goal is to progress quickly - you'll only get out of it what you can afford to put into it. Expecting rapid progress without dedicated effort isn't realistic, and being billed for missed lessons is no fun either.

On the other hand, if you don't really care about how quickly you progress - let's say you have a 9 to 5 job you like, but that doesn't require much creativity, or that leaves you feeling stressed out - Guitar lessons could be the balance you're looking for. In that case, your goal might be just to have one hour a week built into your schedule where the pressure's off, the focus is completely different, and all you want is something more engaging than T.V. to do with your down time. Noodling on the couch to relieve stress and engage your under-used right brain is not only realistic - it's healthy too!

These are just three obvious scenarios among endless possibilities, including questioning the question itself; "Are My Goals Realistic?" Do they have to be? Are dreams real? Are goals destinations? Can the journey be the goal? Do you need a map? Do I know what I'm talking about? It's your call after all...

~~~tod~~~