Author’s note: This journal entry was written on December 16th, 2022 however the photos are from the day itself.

I haven’t been sleeping all that well the last couple of days because my lower back has been pulsing with pain! It might be related to period pain but I’m not totally sure because it doesn’t feel like cramps. It’s right where my kidneys are and it feels like it’s the muscles in that area rather than the skin or the kidneys themselves. Stretching and rubbing the area doesn’t seem to help, either! Heat seems to work a bit so I guess I’ll just keep refilling my hot water bottles.

Tonight I had the first part of a heels intensive! It was a two hour long session and boy was it thoroughly exhausting. I’m definitely not the most comfortable wearing heels so I wanted to improve my balance and confidence with this intensive. This session was all technique based and we did exercises practicing standing, walking, K stands, hair whips, and turning. By the end of the session my feet and my lower back were killing me, but I’m so glad I went and got outside of my comfort zone because it was a really feel-good experience. Next week we’ll learn choreography and I’m crossing my fingers I’ll be able to apply all of the foundations we learned today!!