Difficulty shifting

I've had my '01 Jetta for about a year and a half now, and recently I've had some difficulty shifting it into 1st and 3rd gear...whenever I try to move the stick into position, it move a bit then feels like it hits a wall or something, sometimes if I press really hard it will roughly slip in, but most of the time it takes many tries and then it goes into place easily...what do you guys think this is??? Problem with the clutch? or is this a transmission thing?

thanks

my dads truck has something like what you're describing but only in first, the tranny wont shift into first unless it's going really slow, and if i dont rev it up high enough (+3000 rpm) in first, sometimes when i shift into second it will feel almost like a grind but it will go in, i'm not sure if this is in any way related to your problem but it might be. when are you shifting into first? you should only need/use it when you're stoped, i use second when im rolling even a slight bit because it has a rough time getting into first. as for third, i have no idea.

When my car did that it was because the clutch wasn't completely releasing. This means that the transmission speed couldn't synchronize and it felt like a solid stop and wouldn't go into gear. It would be different in some gears though.

You need to check your clutch travel/ free play first.