Take a pencil, and lightly draw yourself some straight lines. As your hand/arm moves over the fabric, the pencil will wear away. I don't know how much you've done, but changing your thread to a color that blends in better won't draw your eye to it - natural/ off white color???
And get yourself a leather thimble - it will protect your finger til you get the hang of it. Til then, hang in there - it really does get better! We all promise that!