I did it! Today is the first day I went both with and against the grain and didn't nick myself, so I'm taking that as a good sign!
Still a little pale, but I've been sure to go outside for periods of time every day (at graduation I got sunburnt on part of my scalp so part of it is darker than the rest = /
Still having one big issue though: I'm using a headblade, and first I go front to back, then back to front. When I run my hands vertically up and down the head it's smooth, but above my ears on either side if I go sideways there is still that sandpaper feel. Is this normal or does my hair come in weird? Any good ways to tackle it?