Michael,
You're young! Give it time! That said, it took me over fifteen years of research before I finally made a connection to a well researched ancestor. It came about, not from searching the internet, but in working at the NC State Archives looking through old wills and estate records. I located a will of a man who was the brother of my 'supposed' ancestor. The man named all of his brother's sons, one of whom was my known ancestor. In that one find, I was then able to trace back to Nantucket and connect to many of the founders, which also ended up giving me a connection to the Mayflower.
I've been able, since then, to end up locating other 'notable' ancestors, and certainly it's exciting and fun to have research already done and be able to read books and articles about the lives of your ancestors.
On another note, have you had a DNA test done? I'd recommend getting both yourself and your parents (if they're still alive) tested. I had my dad's Y-DNA done a dozen years ago, which proved his descent from an immigrant Irish ancestor back in the 1600s. Recently I had autosomal done on my folks and myself, which has allowed me to phase my results. Thus I can tell whether I'm matching people on my mom's or dad's side. (Because sometimes you will have matches that don't match with either of your parents, all due to you inheriting some DNA segments from a distant ancestor). Don't get me started on DNA.... it's my new favorite thing!
My Irish and Scottish lines continue to be large stumbling stones. Ultimately DNA will help with that.
Hang in there, and keep researching. Your day will come!
