When January comes around, and everyone is thinking of ways to better themselves and improve their lives, people often ask, “How can I be cool like Aaron?”
Who are these people and when do they ask that? Never you mind those details. They are not pertinent to the discussion at hand.
What IS pertinent to the discussion at hand is all the myriad means by which a person, such as yourself, might make yourself cool like me. It is with that lofty goal in mind that I have compiled the following list of awesome things one can do that will accomplish just that.
1. Support Mountain Shadows Equine Revival
I’ve gushed about these guys a few times this year, but seriously, they’re awesome. They give horses a second chance and rehabilitate ones who have been abused/neglected to an adoptable stage. Go see their adorable horsies and give them money to feed said horsies if you can.
2. Subscribe to Lindsay Schopfer’s Newsletter
Oh, you haven’t subscribed to Lindsay Schopfer’s newsletter? Then you, my good sir or madam, are not cool like me. Lindsay is a great author of fantasy adventure with a Steampunk flavor and a really great guy to boot. If you follow his newsletter, your level of coolness will most assuredly go up.
3. Support the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program
Rocky Mountain Raptor Program, as you’ll know if you’ve followed my blog for a while, is a group that rescues and rehabilitates wounded birds of prey in the American Rocky Mountain West. Raptors play such an important role in our ecosystems that this really is vital work. Go take a look at their birdies, and give them money so they can feed and fix said birdies if you can.
4. Follow Helen Pugsley’s Blog
If you don’t know all the things about Helen, go to this blog and know all the things about Helen. She’s a fellow Wyoming fantasy author, by the way. She is also one of my tabletop RPG players, with all associated rights of coolness inferred thereof. Surely, were you follow to her blog, some of this coolness would rub off onto yourself.
5. Support the Red Desert Humane Society (Or your local animal shelter)
You may have noticed at this point in the blog that I have a thing for animals. Go support all the animals! Support the crap out of them so they can make the world better and everyone’s hearts happier dang it!
6. Subscribe to Jen Atkinson’s Newsletter
Jen Atkinson is another fellow Wyoming author who writes fantasy, and also romance, and for teens and also adults, and is generally just awesome, and also great. If you desire to be cool like me, you should seriously consider subscribing.
7. Support the Sweetwater County Library Foundation (or your local library foundation)
The cool thing about libraries is, oh let me think here, EVERYTHING! Thus you should support your local libraries, and supporting their foundations is a good way to do that. Libraries’ foundations are often set-up with an endowment structure, which means the donation you give doesn’t just fund the library until it’s spent. It funds it n perpetuity through the endowment, which means your gift will continue to have a karmic impact across time! Surely such a thing will get you at least a bit closer to my level of coolness.
8. Subscribe to Connie J. Jasperson’s Blog “Life in the Realm of Fantasy”
Not only is Connie an awesome gal and a great fantasy writer, on the blog she reviews other fantasy works (including some by yours truly), highlights works of fine art, offers many awesome tips for fellow writers, and more! Why wouldn’t you want to follow her blog? If you’re cool like me, you won’t have to ask that question, because you already do.
9. Support the Woman’s Club of Rock Springs (or your local Woman’s Club)
Woman’s Clubs do a lot of really cool things in their communities. The one here in Sweetwater County, Wyoming has a college grant program, supports The Linus Project, volunteers with local children’s literacy initiatives, donates to money to good causes such as buying the local police dogs bullet proof vests, supporting the local community theater, and tons more that I can’t even remember right now. If you’re looking for somewhere to put your donation money that will make it go far, a local Woman’s Club might just be the place.
10. Subscribe to Aaron Volner’s Newsletter
Wait, is Aaron saying that he subscribes to his own newsletter? Of course I do! I like awesome things just as much as you! So, if you desire to be cool like me, subscribing to my newsletter might just help you to do that.
