About The Author
Future Presidential Slogan: Seriously, America? You’ve Done Worse.
The Well-Lived Life just turned two months old and passed 1400 readers, so I thought it was time I officially introduced myself! Before we get going, there are several ways you can interact with me, should you choose:
You can always reply to The Well-Lived Life’s emails to have a chat, and I will get back to you post-haste! If you’d like to chat in a different medium, here’s the social media that I check:
Twitter: @Theaaronnichols
Instagram: @aaronjohnnichols
My name is Aaron Nichols, and my journey as a writer begins with magic. I was taught how to write by a witch. That is not exaggeration, hyperbole, or a whimsical metaphor.
I grew up in an Evangelical Christian household, and one of our neighbors was a practicing Wiccan. We weren’t allowed to shovel snow on her driveway after storms or mow her lawn for extra cash. We avoided The Witch’s House on the corner.
Eleven years later, the magic in that house taught me to tell my stories. When I took the creative writing class in college that taught me my stories were worth telling, the instructor was the witch from down the street! Her name is Sarah Schantz, and if you’d like to read her beautiful debut novel, it’s called Fig (I couldn’t find a non-Amazon link, forgive me).
That class shaped my entire life. We went on Jungian writing journeys and learned how to channel stories rather than create them.
It made me want to have stories worth telling.
While I was taking that class, I was also working in a retirement home to pay the bills. I met several people at the end of their journeys on this earth and realized that the happiest people hadn’t just done one thing their entire lives. They’d tried different careers and kept their interest in the world alive.
I realized that the last thing I wanted was an ordinary life. So I ran, intermittently taking backpacking trips and slumming in hostels between semesters while finishing my associate’s degree.
The minimal, small-impact lifestyle my parents taught me growing up meant that over the coming years, I always had enough saved from bartending income to travel.
I’ve since spent a month in Colombia, trying to learn how to Salsa. I’ve eaten Pad Thai in Thailand, chomped on Baguettes under the Eiffel tower, and bungee jumped in New Zealand.
From 2015–2016 I lived in Australia, answering the question “how long does it take a human who’s never seen a kangaroo to get used to seeing wild kangaroos everywhere?”
The answer? No idea. I never got used to it. They’re ridiculous!
Wandering the world made me question how I could make an impact, so I returned home to study education. In 2019, my mentor teacher (a former Peace Corps Volunteer) nominated me for the state of Colorado’s Future Educator Honor Roll.
Because of her influence, I decided to join The Peace Corps.
When I was applying to countries, I chose Nepal because I come from the most individualistic society on Earth.
What would it be like to not be so obsessed with my identity all the time? What would it be like to live in an interwoven society, where the community was seen as the highest good rather than the self? What would it be like to live in a place that values community over individuality?
As an American, I wanted to find out.
In January of 2020, I shipped out to serve in Nepal. The too-short seven weeks (of my commitment that was supposed to last two years) didn’t quite answer those questions for me. I had only begun to scratch the surface of the answers I wanted when covid-19 reared its ugly head. All 7000+ Peace Corps volunteers from 77 countries were evacuated in March.
Though my wings have been clipped by COVID (as have many of yours), I plan to explore the world much more in the coming years.
There is nothing in the world that fascinates me as much as cultures different from my own. When I look back at my journals and writing from my travels, the movement through culture is a constant theme. I’m fascinated with the immigrant experience. I’ve been a guest in several cultures, always taking something from the experience (and, I hope, giving something back).
I’ve learned that just because my culture does something a certain way does not make it the correct way, or even a particularly good way.
I believe that we’ve lost our way, but that we’re not beyond saving. I believe that a well-lived life is one driven by human connection, not greed. I believe that the 24-hour rage treadmill that is news in the modern world numbs our empathy.
Most of all, I believe that we are united by more than what separates us. I’m tired of people in power telling me that those I disagree with are villains. I’m tired of being told that my country’s problems are the sole fault of this or that political party.
My deepest hope is that somehow my stories help you to make sense of the world, or just make things a little bit easier.
When I was working in that retirement home, I befriended a dying man named Hank.
He was an incredible storyteller, and he repeated one thing over and over again:
“Aaron, I’ve got a million stories, and some of them are even true.”
That is who I strive to be.
Have questions about anything? Just hit ‘reply.’ If you enjoyed what you read, you can hit ‘like’ on this email, or leave a comment. If you really liked what you read, please hit ‘share’ and tell a few friends!
Aaron, now I can travel/explore the world with your eyes. Thank you for letting me share
Thank you Aaron, enjoyed learning more about you.