Congrats! Yep, that's a milestone for sure! I remember well the first time I looked at that balled up pile of nylon and thought to myself, "How the hell am I going to do this without killing myself?"
What kind of canopy again? Flat, PRO or Psycho Pack? It may seem counter intuitive, but rolling/stuffing the nose, fully exposing the slider and making sure your stows are tight and the right length will SLOW your opening into something softer so you won't get whacked. Depends on which canopy; they all act differently to some degree. The thing is MADE to OPEN; the goal is to have it open consistently, softly, and ON HEADING. You will find the on heading part is usually the hardest, and alot of times has more to do with body position than packing acumen.
Advice: You will see a lot of jumpers either paying a packer, or just packing without much regard to doing it right. I've heard people actually BRAG about having 100 jumps and 5 reserve rides - nothing to be proud of. I wanted to be that guy that had 5000 jumps and Zero malfunctions - I wanted hospital corners when I packed...but jump 876 was my first one, and I haven't had another one since, BECAUSE I pack my own rig, every time, the same way, every time, and if I don't like it, I'm smart enough to pull it back out and start again. Too many people don't pay attention to the piece of equipment that will save their life..
Like I said, they are designed to OPEN. There are about 5-6 critical things than can really screw you up, if you get those right, then the rest of them will cause minor problems such as you experienced. Always pack under the supervision of a rigger or skydiver on the DZ you trust (and hopefully you pick the right person). I try to watch the students, and if I see them get into a bind I'll come over and help them. If your DZ is doing this right, you ARE being watched and coached. If you're not, then you gotta ASK. Most skydivers are glad to help a young jumper while they are waiting for another load.
Beautiful weekend for jumping for sure! I got three out of a C130 about 3 weeks ago (video is posted around here somewhere - search for "Fort Knox" and I think you'll get a hit) and haven't jumped since and I'm getting the itch. Can't go tomorrow so I'll have to take my chances with the weather for another week