I've been playing for a full year come October 1rst and I'm looking forward to what the next year brings.
I am learning smarter now, but the challenge is I no longer accept things like i did in school. Now I have to know the logic behind something for it to stick in my head. Finding the logic behind most of this stuff is a challenging thing in itself.
Also I'm no longer a kid hanging around with loads of free time after school to screw around on a guitar. Life, work, family, all take up plenty of time and by the time I get back to work on the guitar I'll be dammed if I can remember last weeks lesson without another hour of review.