Take a Class

by Katie Ryder — September 20, 2008

I am an avid outdoors-woman. Give me a bike, a kayak, and a tent and I am a happy lady for the weekend. So when I broke my leg a couple years ago and needed to be completely inactive and had to wear a hip-ankle brace for 3 months, you can imagine my feelings of complete hopelessness. If I couldn't use my body to keep busy, I needed to keep my brain busy. So I signed up for a communication French club. We met every Wednesday night at a bar and attempted to communicate only in French. Even after I got my brace off, I continued to meet my group, and I was happy that my broken leg had pushed me to go out and learn something new.

I encourage everyone to get involved in a class to learn something new, or continue something you stopped learning in college. It not only keeps your mind healthy, but it gives you a great opportunity to try new things and meet new people. In the past 2 years, I have taken a pottery class, a cooking class, and right now I am taking banjo lessons. You know what they say about variety!