Hi there! This is a very tricky project (and number 9 is one of trickiest of the bunch), so I think you might have tried to do too much in one go. I would suggest you try to nail down the angles of the box first, and see if it feels right to you. When you think you have a solid starting point, then try to do the level 2 part of the exercise. In this case, there are some key issues that are present in the perspective of the box, that make other mistakes in the level 2 section more noticeable. I attached an image to make it more clear than in writing! Hope this helps, keep at it!

Yea I also find it pretty hard to change my mind from looking and copying the contour to trying to capture the shape and gesture of an object. I think one thing that helps me is trying to think about the overall flow (line of action) of the seals from that point I will think of one or two shapes and try to merge them together with lines. Also I think the reference should just be the reference if you have to deviate from that to get a more dynamic shape then you should. Hopefully this helps :)