Hi Melissa,

I started guitar in high school, and I remember being in that space. It took maybe 4 months for me to play chords clearly without muffled 'buzz' of strings and to master clear resonant bar-chords. also took a few weeks for the pain to disappear and those callouses to form on my fingers, but I got there.

like me, you are probably starting with a goal of mastering specific songs rather than techniques? when I started a had a goal of playing the chord progression to Metallica's 'Fade to Black' . I eventually worked out that it was an A-min > C > G > Emin type progression and really got inspired to play more as I HAD NOTICEABLY IMPROVED [even slightly] and started playing it at school during lunch hour in front of like 10 people - if you can push through those 1st few months you will find you sense you have improved in your skill, and this internal sense of being a MORE skilled guitarist was the magic for me that kept me going. I would recommend working on songs that you love and that are your taste of music - the key is inspiration in these early stages

hope that helps