Now that your shoes are broken in, you can go to your first class. For a beginner's class, you will spend a good amount of time at the barre for warm up exercises. You probably won't go in the center at first. Your teacher will decide that for you. Dancing en pointe is very hard, and being good at it is even harder. Do not wear your pointe shoes without your teacher, but wait for your instructor's approval. Be patient. For many dancers, beginner classes aren't super-fun, but they are crucial to building strength. You want to focus on lifting out of the shoes. Remind yourself that the longer and harder you work at the barre, the stronger you will be for the center exercises. Keep a strong core. Dancing en pointe is much harder to maintain balance and so it is crucial to have a strong core. If your core is lose, chances are, you'll get hurt or it will just be much more complicated than it needs to be. Point your foot in your shoe. This will help you stabilize yourself for barre and center work. When you're en pointe, that doesn't mean that your foot is truly pointed. Think about pulling up and out of your shoes. If there is one way to make sure you will fall, it is relaxing your muscles. To keep your foot pointed, work your Achilles tendon and flex your calf muscle. To keep your leg straight, engage your quadriceps. To lengthen and extend the leg, use your hamstrings. To turn out, use your hip flexors and your glutes. To balance, use your abdominals. To keep good posture, pull down in your back muscles. When it's your first class you may only last ten minutes before some pain sets in. If you experience numbness, tell your instructor right away so you can take off the pointe shoes. How you can also tell if you should stop is every minute or so to make sure blood is still flowing through your toes and your toes still have feeling in them. Don't sink in your pinky toe. This is known as sickling. It is really bad for your feet, ankles, and knees and makes dancing harder, not to mention potentially causing serious injury. Keep your weight in the middle of the box, on your big toe. Your feet will probably be sore or numb afterward. The pain will decrease after a couple weeks. Soaking your feet in warm water is good for your feet because it relieves tension and relaxes the feet. Do not go for a foot spa or remove your callouses, since you need them on your feet, which help in pointe work. Use a stress ball or footsie roller by Bunheads to massage your feet. After class, put baby powder on your feet to soak up the sweat and do the same with your padding. Always keep your toenails to average length (not too long nor too short-- which can be very painful) Let your pointe shoes air out because if you don't they will soak up the sweat and break faster. Remember that pointe shoes only last up for a few months or years, depending on how often you use them. For professionals, they usually go through numerous pairs in just a few months or even week/s.
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One-sentence summary -- Try the first class. Concentrate on the alignment of your whole body. Engage everything. Manage the pain and talk to your instructor. Care for your feet.

Although products may claim to "remove dead skin" or provide other benefits, scrubbing or exfoliating your face can actually make blackheads worse by irritating and inflaming your skin. Don't use abrasive scrubbers or cloths, don't scrub your face harshly, and don't use exfoliating cleansers. You may be tempted to squeeze your blackheads to make them go away. Don't do it. Popping, picking, or squeezing blackheads, with your fingers or with an at-home tool, can drive debris further into your skin. It can also spread infection around and even cause scarring. If your blackheads really bother you, consider seeing a dermatologist. A dermatologist can safely extract your blackheads using a professional tool. Though they may seem to help, they may actually make things worse if you have sensitive skin. The adhesion may irritate your skin. Furthermore, the strip may only get at the surface layer of the blackhead, and not remove the full clog underneath. It's fine to use them occasionally, but if you notice that they irritate your skin, it won't hurt to stop using them. You can get a build up of oil on your pillows. In turn, those oils can get on your face and clog your pores. Try to wash your pillowcases at least once a week. Tight hats can hold oils on to skin. Your pores become clogged due to oils and dead skin, so if your hats are too tight, they can lead to blackheads. Though experts don't agree 100 percent on what foods trigger acne, most agree that foods that are high in sugar and carbohydrates contribute to the problem, as well as dairy products. That includes foods such as white bread and potato chips. Try to lower your intake of these foods to reduce your acne problem. Although you should still make sure you get plenty of calcium, if you have a persistent problem with acne, moderating your milk consumption may help reduce your issues. Touching your face introduces oils and bacteria to your face. You can also leave dirt on your face. All of these can lead to more acne and blackheads. Clean your cell phone frequently. The screen holds on to oils and dirt from your face, which can get transferred back into your pores and become blackheads. You don't have to just hope that treatments work on your blackheads. If you've been treating your blackheads for two weeks and haven't seen any improvement, see your doctor or ask about seeing a dermatologist. You should also see a dermatologist if you have moderate or severe acne. Moderate acne is between 20-100 comedones (whiteheads or blackheads), or 15-50 pimples. Severe acne is more than 5 cysts (an inflamed, swollen type of acne), more than 100 comedones, or more than 50 pimples.
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One-sentence summary -- Do not scrub or exfoliate your face. Do not squeeze the blackheads. Reconsider pore strips. Ensure your pillow isn't oily. Skip tight hats. Avoid sugar-rich foods. Try not to touch your face. See your doctor if treatments don't work or your acne is moderate or severe.

This will only encourage them to complain more often and loudly to make their voices heard. Chronic complainers are attention-seekers, and denying such attention will only worsen their attitude. If the chronic complainer seems to be coming to you on a regular basis whenever their negativity needs an outlet, there might be a possibility that you've been selected as their favorite listener or problem-solver. Consider what you've done in the past that might have prompted them to think you're more sympathetic than others and change your response. For example, you might have given too much space to their complaint and too little to helping them focus on finding solutions themselves. Setting clear boundaries will contain their behavior. You will have to do it more than once until they've realized you're not the go-to person for their complaints. You can say "I love you and want to help, but I'll not just stay here and listen to how bad things are. If you want to think of solutions, you know where to find me." Although it's hard for chronic complainers to change their take on life, positivity can be as contagious as negativity. Showing how you deal with problems yourself could work as evidence of the fact that there are different ways to approach life, and help the complainer change their attitude. If the number and intensity of chronic complaints has gotten out of control and you consider this person a friend, you should discuss their attitude and point out that their complaining is a default reaction to any situation, rather than a reasonable behavior. Chronic complainers don't see themselves as negative people. They think life is especially harsh for them because of bad luck or honestly think problems are too huge for them to handle. Your helping them see this side of their personality will be a first step toward their acting upon it.
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One-sentence summary --
Make an effort not to ignore their complaints completely. Ask yourself why this person is complaining with you and not someone else. Show your positive attitude as an alternative example. Talk to them openly about their chronic complaining.