Working on the Wheel

So I have started to work on the wheel. I have been working at it for about three or four days now. I feel like I'm starting to get better at bringing the clay up and down and also centering the clay but I'm still not very good at opening the clay. I've been trying to get the walls taller but it either keeps breaking or flaring out when it's not supposed to. So far working on the wheel has been fun but hard (and also messy!) my only concern is that I won't get my piece done in time.