HELP! I want to learn to be a decent cook! Any suggestions?

I really want to learn to cook..I am terrible in the kitchen. I can bake ( a little) but even reading recipes is confusing for me :-( i want to possibly take a class but was wondering if anyone else out there had any tips --anyone that overcame this problem and became an awesome cook! lol I feel like it is a skill I need to master for many reasons..and it is frustrating and embarassing that I can't hold my own in the kitchen and that recipe lingo in general confuses me..I am a smart and educated person but for some reason cooking is like another language to me (and I learned another language in school with no problems! )