Continuing education and non-credit classes through a local community or regular college are some of those great programs for seniors. I attended an art exhibit yesterday at the wonderful ArtSouth we have here that featured a friend who has led an interesting life. (http://www.artsouthhomestead.org) There have been times of tragedy as well as extraordinary inspiration and she has always had an inclination to write – journals, short stories, poetry, but events occurred to also stir her interest in painting. I’ve posted about ArtSouth before, an enclave that provides a nurturing platform for artists in many mediums, to include a foundry. My friend began to volunteer at ArtSouth and was urged by some (sadly discouraged by a few) to take her first formal art class and when she did, it was a personal awakening that released the artist she is developing into.

Another friend is taking classes in Chinese (different college), intrigued by the complexity of the language. Community colleges often have very affordable classes in these categories precisely because they do want to make life-long learning available to people who finally have the time to pursue study that they had not able to do for one reason or the other. With the proliferation of community colleges, many places are served that had not been previously, and on-line classes are of course another option. If you’re a Baby Boomer, you may have already embraced this idea and if not, have you thought about it? What say you, readers?