Take a Class

From an art class I took last summer. This ended up being the background for all the mini-paintings I did this fall.

Today I'm here to urge you to take a class.

I know you're super busy. I know there are already too many things crammed into your day. I know you've got work and home and kids and spouse and workouts and family and friends and general life stuff all vying for your attention and time. And the last thing you want to do is add something else into the mix.

But I don't care.

I still think you should take a class.

I don't really care what kind of class you take. It can be one that gets you further in your career. It can be one that introduces you to a new hobby. It can be one that you've always wanted to take. It can help you learn a new sport. (Tennis, anyone?) It can be online. It can be through your community rec center. It can be at a local college.

What and where it is doesn't really matter all that much, as long as it's something you're interested in. What matters is that you do something new, you learn something new, you try something new, and you get, at least a little bit, uncomfortable.

Why do I think you need to get uncomfortable?

Because that's where all the good things happen.

Margaret Atwood's Masterclass

I began challenging myself to take classes a few years ago. I call it Continuing Ed (aka My Life Masterclass). This year I'm taking actual Masterclasses through Masterclass.com. I started in the fall and will continue throughout the year. At the moment I'm taking only writing-related classes, but when I've exhausted those, I plan to take other classes that interest me...on cooking and wine appreciation and photography and...whatever else strikes my fancy. I'm also currently taking a month-long short story writing class through Pennwriters, a Pennsylvania writers organization I joined last year. And, I've been attending writers' conferences and workshops whenever I can (at least two in the past year).

My daughter taking a
sewing class

I've also been taking various art classes, both online and in person. And, I've been watching art-making videos on Youtube-- Youtube is a great resource for free learning!! Sometime this year I hope to take a sewing class at JoAnn's so I can finally learn how to use the sewing machine my mother got me two years ago...so I can repair all the holes that magically appear in all of our clothes all of the time. (What's with that???)

But I'm not here to tell you about my classes. I'm here to encourage you to find your own.

Taking a class does wonders for your life satisfaction and self esteem. Even if you're busy and you have to wedge it in between twenty other things. Taking a class will challenge your brain. It may make you feel stupid and slow at the beginning, but that feeling won't last. Eventually you'll get better/grasp the material/get absorbed in the topic or the process and you'll start to feel alive. And then, when it's done, you'll feel a sense of accomplishment.

You'll learn something new. You'll broaden your horizons. You will grow. And that is, after all, at least part of why we're here. To learn and grow. We are not here to stagnate. We are not here to be lulled by the sameness of every day. We are not here to live the unchallenged life.

So challenge yourself.

Book Club feet, from our annual
holiday sock exchange

And while we're at it, I also think you should join a club. (Extracurriculars, Yay!) Find a running club or a book club or a dinner club or a golf league or a slow-pitch softball team. Again, it doesn't matter what it is. But it does matter that it's something you enjoy and it gets you together with other people. It matters that it gets you interested in doing things to relax and unwind other than watching TV or surfing Facebook (or, if you're me, Instagram (#instaaddict))...or playing video games (I'm looking at you, husbands).

Take up running or tennis or fly fishing. Start painting or baking or gardening. Volunteer at a local animal shelter or soup kitchen or library. Take the classes to get SCUBA certified or CPR certified or teaching certified. Learn to knit or throw a pot or fix an engine.

From a Bonsai class my
husband and I took last fall

And, if you can, do it with a group.

Meet new people. Make new friends. Converse with people outside your comfort zone, whatever that zone may be. Do something you've never done before. Do something that makes you nervous. Do something that you "would never do."

Push. Stretch. Reach.

Reach for something further away than your own doorstep. Challenge yourself with something new. That is where growth lives.

Until next time, TAKE A CLASS. (You knew that was coming ;-)

Namaste.