painted pagoda

Well uh the contrast and colours seem right this time, but it appears you've been toying with some filters/effects.
While they seem fun and cool at first, you'll grow tired of them quickly. So anyone that already knows about these filters will easily recognize one if you use it , which can kill the originality of your piece, which you obviously don't want.
I'm not saying to abandon filters all the way, but you should use them more carefully. Use them only when they're appropriate (in this case, the filter took out a lot of detail from the original shot; i liked the original better for its detail) and if you use one, be very subtle about it, so no one will even recognize or be bothered by that filter.

Oh, no need to feel ashamed for making these mistakes, everyone makes these when they want to start photo editing. You'll learn over time.