Liz Magee

As we move through 2024, many of us have been busy goal setting for the year ahead. We promise ourselves that this is the year that we’ll finally learn how to do that thing that we’ve always been curious about. We vow to figure out Photoshop or pick up tennis or write that screenplay or whatever the goal might be. I’ve had “learn piano” and “speak Spanish” on my personal list for years. I’ve also been haunted by the feeling of “I wish I could draw” for as long as I can remember. Back in 2022, a friend mentioned that they had taken a sewing class through Los Angeles City College’s Extension Program that they not only enjoyed, but that they could afford. I immediately went to the website in hopes that I could go from “I wish I knew how to do that” to “I’ve taken a class on that!” Sure, I know there are oodles of YouTube videos explaining and teaching many subjects and skills. And I appreciate those creators for doing that—free access to education is true freedom! But for me, I often need to put some money on the line to actually designate the time, show up and do the damn thing. I can’t emphasize the “some’’ in “some money” enough. Many of the multi-week, in-person classes listed through LACC’s Extension Program range from about $99 to $250, with workshops as low as $49. To add some perspective, the East Hollywood school’s Sketch Comedy Writing class is $169 for six sessions that are three hours in length; a similar intro class is priced at over $500 at other institutions such

I’ve never identified as an athlete and I often feel like a stranger in a strange land in your average exercise-based environment. The emo night spin class, though, at Hype Fitness in Silver Lake is not your average exercise-based environment.  As a forever theater kid, a sensitive writer and a frequent cryer, I do identify as “emotional.” But to be honest, I’ve never been a Warped Tour every year kind of fan of emo music. In fact, I’m guilty of almost solely knowing the mainstream hits and big career-defining albums. To the hardcore fans reading this, I apologize for being basic, but I am a big enough fan that when I saw “emo night” listed as an option on a list of spin classes, I couldn’t sign up fast enough.  The good news is that the instructor, Nicole Hanser, is a master at creating an environment where both the emo devotees and those that only dabble in the genre can all feel welcomed. When I asked Nicole to describe her class in three words, her reply was: “Rage. Fun. Repeat.” Yep! That just about sums it up.  Emo night happens every Wednesday night at 7pm at Hype Fitness. There, Nicole guides 20 to 30 of us through fast sprints to Travis Barker’s drumming, lets us curse along to Fall Out Boy as we all trudge up a gnarly “hill” and gets us clapping along to fun faves like the All-American Rejects’ “Gives You Hell”—all while reminding us to drink water, listen to our bodies and keep pushing until we reach the end of the 45-minute ride. Singing along is also highly encou