Taking the First Step Toward Reinvention

Although certain feel good children’s television shows would have you believe that you’re perfect just the way you are, there is always room for improvement. The city’s public and private colleges have an impressive selection of classes available this summer for New Yorkers who want to get the most out of life, pick up new skills or hobbies, or maybe find a talent they didn’t know they had.For many people, the first step toward self-improvement is to work on the mind. People seem to be focusing more on inward development these days, according to Sonjia Kenya, the instructor of “Reinventing You,” a course offered this summer at New York University. “I don’t know whether it’s the fall of the stock market or 9/11,” she said, “but a lot of my friends who are really successful are sort of taking a step back and asking, ‘What does this mean for me at the end of the day? I need to be compensated spiritually, as well.'”Ms. Kenya said that while some of her students are empty-nesters searching for a way to fill the void created when their children leave home, the ideal student for her class is in their mid- to late-30s on a path toward personal development.Ms. Kenya said that her students take the class if they feel unhealthy or that they are not living their best life. “It’s either about fitness or relationships,” she said.The four-session course teaches students how to eradicate unproductive, energy-draining habits and emotions, and helps them begin to develop clarity, balance, compassion, and love. The class emphasizes improving physiological fitness by improving nutrition, enhancing cognitive abilities, and socializing. The goal is to teach students how to recharge their lives by becoming more aware – mentally, physically, emotionally, intellectually, and professionally – in order to better enjoy life. The course costs $325.For more information about NYU’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies, visit www.scps.nyu.edu, or call 212-998-7200.On the road to self-improvement, Buddhist wisdom is a valuable tool for spiritual growth. The CUNY Graduate Center offers several classes dealing with Buddhist psychology to help students achieve fulfillment. Among the offerings this summer are two sessions of “Illuminating and Releasing the Past,” which teaches understanding of the true nature of the mind to overcome negativity and to free the mind from guilt and past traumas. The cost is $35 for two Saturday sessions, or students can choose one-session classes, titled “Purifying the Past” and “Freedom From Guilt,” for $20 each. For more information about the Continuing Education and Public Programs offered by the Graduate Center, visit http://web.gc.cuny.edu/cepp, or call 212-817-8215.Others may find writing to be the route to inner peace. “Self-Discovery Through Journal Writing” at Hunter College gives writers a sense of the connections between one’s own personal life story and the world at large. For more information about summer programs available at Hunter College, visit http://ce.hunter.cuny.edu, or call 212-650-3850.Some people may wish they could express themselves better through song, dance, or visual arts. Aspiring singers can hone their vocal skills in classes offered at Hunter and New School University. Hunter offers “Anyone Can Sing,” which teaches students how to stay on key and hit high notes effortlessly in four sessions. Group and individual performances are included, and song genres range from folk, to pop, to classical. The class costs $99. The New School’s “Beginning Voice” class is kept small, with a limit of six students. The fundamentals of vocal technique are taught in a supportive atmosphere, with feedback from the instructor and class after individual weekly performances. Nine sessions cost $445.If your speaking voice is a dead giveaway of your place of birth, the New School offers a 12-session course in voice and diction improvement for $450. The class corrects common faults of voice and diction in regional speech patterns. Information about courses offered by the New School is available at www.nsu.newschool.edu, or by calling 800-319-4321.For those who desire to be a bit more cosmopolitan, foreign language offerings abound throughout the city, in a wide array of options, from intensive one-on-one classes, to “Speed Spanish,” an online course offered by Brooklyn College that promises to have students speaking competently after just a few lessons. The New School offers one-session classes in French or Italian for travelers. The cost is $135 per six hour session.Brooklyn College offers an extensive list of online courses from “Music Made Easy” to “Appreciating European Art,” to make students jacks-of-all-trades from the comfort of their own homes.For more information about summer courses at Brooklyn College, visit http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/adulted, or call 718-951-4141.If you have always wished to be more musically inclined, Hunter offers introductory classes for guitar and piano. The courses are designed for both students who may have played years ago and those who have never picked up an instrument before. Guitar students must provide their own instrument, but electric keyboards will be provided for each student in the piano class. Six sessions of guitar classes cost $110. Five sessions of piano lessons are $200.For those who seek a more physical outlet for their creativity, the New School will offer 13 sessions of “Combined Classical Ballet and Modern Dance,”an introductory-level class that teaches fundamental techniques. The course costs $430. Hunter College also offers an array of dance classes, from “Ballroom Basics” to “Beginner Flamenco.” Six-week sessions cost $99.Hunter dance instructor Eva Carrozza said that she is always amazed by the variety of students who sign up for her classes, from retirees to young singles. “A lot do it for the exercise aspect and the social aspect,” she said. “People come to meet other people.” Ms. Carrozza said that one of her salsa dance students is a perfect example of someone getting the most out of life – when she is not at dance class, she is also taking an Italian class at Hunter.Columbia University’s Continuing Education program offers several outlets for creative expression through writing courses and visual arts programs. With beginner classes ranging in price from $35 for drawing, $45 for painting, and $85 for photography and printmaking, the art classes provide a relaxed environment and offer students the chance to learn from professionals in the field. More information about Columbia’s continuing education programs is available at www.ce.columbia.edu, or by calling 212-854-9699.The summer programs allow students to “develop visual skills that have a great impact on people’s lives at large, regardless of their vocational interests,” said Columbia professor of art, Greg Amenoff. “The program welcomes all kinds of people who want an intensive experience in a nonacademic and noncompetitive atmosphere.”If you simply want to improve your appreciation of art and its many forms, consider “Learning To Look: Ways of Seeing Art,” in four sessions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art offered through NYU. The class shows students how to consider the ways the artist evokes the viewer’s response, and the elements that make a masterpiece.NYU offers several courses to help students improve themselves in the workplace. “Work Smarter, Not Harder – The Key to Productivity” teaches participants how to get more done in less time, and with less stress. The class debunks traditional time-management techniques that don’t work for everyone and offers new approaches to coping with information overload and multitasking. A course on interpersonal communication skills promises to increase effectiveness in communication with others. Students will learn how to create a rapport with anyone, gain trust quickly, and apply strategies that influence others’ decision making. “Self-Promotion for Introverts” and “Speaking With Confidence” are both billed as guides for wallflowers who want to be more assertive and successful people.Hunter College also offers courses to make students better at business. “Socializing and Networking Basics” offers help for the shy. The four-session, $130 course will teach students how to interact confidently with strangers at parties and business functions. Professional actors will perform humorous social scenarios to show students how to handle such situations. Topics to be discussed include breaking the ice, conversation starters, and leaving a positive, lasting impression.

Taking the First Step Toward Reinvention

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