My friend Marty decided to learn French last year. He signed up for classes at Alliance Française near his apartment in New York; soon he was renting French movies without subtitles and planning a vacation in Brittany, where he could speak like a local to his heart’s content. Two years later, he has created an online dictionary of 14,000 words. I’m not sure I know that many in English.

This is adult education at its best. Marty is learning a language purely because it interests him. He’s motivated and energized, and his new passion is sending tremors of enthusiasm into other areas of his life.

He’s not alone. A few years ago, my friend Lynn began taking classes in Nia, a movement discipline that combines dance, martial arts and yoga. Now she’s an instructor with a brand—new studio. Maggie took music lessons to play the violin and swimming lessons to perfect her crawl. Pam is studying belly dancing and tap. Beth took up tennis in her 40s and is now a regional champ. Cindy became a cave diver and has her own business, mapping caverns in a Florida state park.

Adult education doesn’t always mean group lessons. My husband, who wouldn’t take classes on a bet, taught himself all the skills—woodworking, laying up composites, wiring and more—to build an aerobatic airplane from a kit. He also constructed a swooningly beautiful mahogany kayak, a great starter project for anyone who is wooed by wood. My friend Judy, who regretted the English classes not taken, hired a tutor (a retired professor who worked on the cheap) for private “great books” study sessions.

This is adult education at its most joyful. Pursuing a passion is the shortcut to life reinvention, something you can accomplish without great sacrifice. You don’t have to leave your marriage or quit your job, and you’re still entitled to a new definition of yourself. You’re the potter, the painter, the gourmet cook.

Next to my friends and family, I feel like a slacker. But then I realize, I too have enrolled in the school of the new. I learned to rock—climb at 52, and attended motorcycle school two years later. Hey, if I can do it, anybody can.

There are many reasons to pick a passion; perhaps you’re satisfying a creative urge, proving you can conquer a challenge or reconnecting with an activity you loved as a child. Two people who’ve done the latter, and written about it, offer a guide to the emotional highs and lows and ultimate satisfaction of a successful reprise. Janet Carlson’s book, Quick, Before the Music Stops (Broadway Books, $19.95), chronicles her return to ballroom dancing, while in A Devil to Play (Harper Collins, $23.99), Jasper Rees writes of performing a French horn solo 20 years after he butchered it at a high school concert.

How to pick a passion? If you’re feeling itchy, but no particular idea comes to mind, think in general terms about what you love to do. Ask yourself questions such as: Are you looking for an imaginative pursuit, like writing or photography? Want to reclaim your glory days as a teen athlete, but with a new non—team sport like hiking or biking? Have you always wanted to turn out flaky homemade croissants? Still stumped? Then ask friends what three adjectives come to mind when they think of you. Even better, find out what lessons they take. There’s nothing like the buddy system to seal the deal on a new pursuit.

How to get started? You can head for the Web, of course. Just search something as simple as “cooking schools,” for example, and you’ll discover a list as geographically diverse as The Institute of Culinary Education in New York and the Apron’s Cooking Schools offered by Publix supermarkets in Atlanta as well as in Boca Raton, Jacksonville, Sarasota and Tampa, Florida. Check out the offerings at local colleges as well as nonprofits like the Y. Ask if you can sit in on a class before you commit. Friends are a great source of critical appraisals.

Many people have honed a passion on a volunteer vacation, an educational endeavor that has guest workers doing anything from sifting for dinosaur bones to helping preserve a historic village. (Editor’s Note: Please see the story on “voluntourism” that starts on page 8 of this issue.) Some trips require skills like scuba diving, while others need only an open mind and a willing spirit. College—sponsored excursions offer commentary from learned professors who are experts on various parts of the world. Peruse the listings on the website of your alma mater’s alumni association.

Enriching your life with classes and activities can echo in so many ways, both mentally and physically. The invigorating rush of the right learning curve makes you feel smarter, happier, even younger, and there’s no doubting the health benefits of exercising both brain and body. When I strap on a harness to scale a peak with my 20—something daughter, I feel like I’m, yes, on top of the world.

Sources & Resources

BACK TO SCHOOL: For a list of colleges and universities in the United States and abroad that offer continuing—education programs, consult the University Continuing Education Association (www.ucea.edu) or the Association for Continuing Higher Education (www.acheinc.org).

COOKING: To find the nearest professional cooking school, enter your ZIP code in the search field on http://culinary.top
careerschools.com. Then check the school’s website for outreach programs; many, such as the Culinary Institute of
America, offer lessons for hobbyists too.

MUSIC LESSONS: On www.privatelessons.com you can search for a teacher of voice, a musical instrument or even conducting.

LANGUAGES: Rosetta Stone offers a wide range of software for learning languages—from Arabic to Welsh—all on your own (www.rosettastone.com).

SPORTS AND ARTS: See www.ymca.net/programs/ for an idea of what this venerable nonprofit offers at outlets worldwide. Then contact your local Y for specifics.