Truth is, I shat out all the levels for all the demos I've made so far in like 1-2 days. I really ought to take more time for level design next time.
Don't worry about that too much. I noticed only because I thought: "jesus I played this game before to completion, how the fuck can lv1 be hard for me?" XD.
Romero teach well and good, first level should be the last you complete because it's the most important. I'm indeed of this opinion, but for now just don't go overboard. If you see the streams, fishking had no problem complete the demo