Chess Improvement

Ok so ive been playing chess for  a few years and I've reached about 1700. It seems as though it takes a LONG time to really improve though. Im 17 years old and have been playing alot the last few months. Do other people actually have a really hard time improving? I mean I know I hear people say that but sometimes I wonder if most people get better faster than I do. I guess what my questions really come down to is first of all, how long would most of you say it should take to reach a rating of about 2000, given that someone just learned. And secondly, does anyone have any suggestions or stories that could help me and anyone else improve or at least tell us how long it took you to achieve a strong rating and how you did it?