Out of all the posts I have written in my time, this is one where I am going to go rogue because I don’t know and have never known what to write for this, but it is time to say goodbye to the “Cooldom” Administration.
Designed by Bull Hour
I first joined the army community in 2011/12. To say I had big ambitions once I got into it would be an understatement. At first, Club Penguin armies were just random groups who also played Club Penguin. They allowed players to interact and create bonds, some of which still hold up today. Yet, once I got invested and started to learn what the community was about, I wanted more. Not only did I want to gain promotion after promotion, but I also wanted to learn more and I wanted to explore. That’s exactly what I did. I learned and I explored. When you join a community as big as CPA, there’s so much to discover. There are so many different armies and environments, and it is important to find the right one for you. Luckily, I did.
I won’t go through my journey in armies, but most of my journey was documented in my retirement from the Army of Club Penguin. Sometime along the way, I attempted to get into media, applying for different media outlets. I did actually join Small Medium Army Press, I believe, although my memory is iffy on whether it was that or Small Medium Army Central. Either way, I joined one of them, but I never actually got anything published there. Looking back, I am glad I didn’t because that would have been terrible to look at now. Anyone who knew me back then would back me up on that (please don’t).
When CPA ultimately died, I spent some time out of the community. I kept in touch with quite a lot of people, but never in a million years did I think I would be where I am today.
The Journey Back
In 2018, armies were starting to thrive once more, and I saw an opportunity to get more involved. I was already involved in the community, making my comeback in 2018, a year after Club Penguin’s closure. However, this opportunity I saw was outside of the norm. It was in Club Penguin Central – it was a news organisation solely based on Club Penguin Private Servers. The applications for that were fight or flight. Applicants were given tasks, both in groups and alone, and they would be assessed on how well they did the tasks. They took note of reporters’ skills and capabilities while also providing feedback for aspiring reporters to help them improve.
The process to even become a reporter was long. One task required us to build a Discord server from scratch, with a specific theme/concept of our choice. These tasks, whilst random, helped to showcase who was creative, could work in a team, had the knowledge and skill set and also who stood out from the rest. So I worked with them and worked my way up the ranks, introducing a series of new posts and ideas to the organisation and spearheading army content. Behind the scenes, things went down fast. In 2019, the organisation crumbled, and I withdrew from the community to focus my attention elsewhere.
In late 2019, I briefly made a return to the community but decided to focus on my own life, only to return several months later in 2020. With my return to the community and my interests in writing still there, I joined Club Penguin Army Hub in May 2020. I became a Reporter and quickly got to work. Working with the likes of Max was an absolute pleasure. His work ethic and his abilities are unmatched. It was also in CPAH that I was able to work alongside my former co-Leader, AustinFraud, with whom I led ACP in 2023. Yet, my favourite part of CPAH was working alongside Flav and creating the column ‘How They Began‘. This was an incredible column to have worked on, and despite our differences, I could not have asked to work with anyone better.
This small idea turned out to be massive, and it had an upward trajectory from the idea alone. Additionally, CPAH enabled me to explore writing editorials. I had written big pieces in the past, but writing an editorial in this community was a different story. Yet, I dove headfirst into it and came out smelling of roses. My first editorial in CPAH, I believe, was on the toxicity of armies. It was a topic which many were constantly discussing, but it was never looked into thoroughly. Thus, I wanted to shed some light on the subject. Looking back, I can see why Max tried to have my head every day. Yet, the post holds up even today. Although it is extremely long. TLDR – the community has always been toxic, and we have made a hell of a lot of progress since OG CPA.
From CPAH, I continued to work hard and work up. I joined the media organisations which came after CPAH and continued to hone my skills while also creating a reputation for myself within the media. Although that did damage to me too, but I will discuss how later on. So I went from being a reporter in the community to a known writer who would tackle any topic or subject and write for days. Yet, all good things must come to an end, and that is what happened when organisations collided, and I found myself outside of the mainstream, writing as a hobby.
Club Penguin Armies
After stints as a reporter/philosopher and then stints elsewhere, I rejoined Club Penguin Armies in 2023 because I saw what CPA was going through at the time and wanted to help out in any way I possibly could, no matter where it was. However, there was turmoil, the media team was not in the best shape (to be completely honest), and it was a fight-or-flight team. Yet, I did not know this yet. I joined simply wanting to help out and to do what I love, write.
Despite my past with writing and being an author of several posts and editorials, amongst pieces of work outside of CPA, I joined wanting to help. In fact, I did not even apply for a reporter position. Here is what I applied for:
Now, if that is not something wild, I don’t know what is, but that is just me. I’m a bit strange, I can do or say things people do not understand, but you know if I’m wanting to get involved, I’m gonna go hard or go home. If I don’t, then maybe think about why that may be. Anywhooo, so I knew how CPA and organisations worked and even had offers to join CPA in a larger role in the past, yet that did not happen. Everything happens for a reason, even the mistakes we make along the way, and that led me to 2023, where everything was tense, where it was a struggle, but I came in motivated and ready to work. Ultimately, I was given the role of reporter and ran with it.
Before even becoming a reporter, I came up with ideas that I presented to the Administration, some were for media, some were not. For example, I suggested CPA start a podcast and kinda run with that idea because they were popular and it allowed people to get an insight into who each person was. I think there needs to be a place in the community for things like that to separate the person from the name, while also allowing them to talk about their journey inside and outside of CPA. Another thing was CPA Digest:
Both of these things were incorporated, with the latter idea being incorporated in a different way. Although I do acknowledge that they were not spearheaded to the extent they should have been. That’s on us (CPA). Not only did I come in with these ideas, but plenty of others. My motivation was unquestionable, and my creativity was peak. However, I do not want to take credit away from anyone who worked in CPA at that time because there were people who worked hard and contributed to making CPA and the media division what it is known for today.
One of the things I struggled with in 2022, the year before rejoining for this run, was creating posts. I know that is a crazy thing to say, but I did. I quickly became a philosopher and someone who created opinion posts/editorials. Being categorised, this got me stuck because there is only so much a person can write before coming stuck – I experienced huge writer’s block. Ultimately, it led one of my posts to take a couple of months to write. It was not just the block either; it was the motivation. Everyone within the community will know of my writing. I will write for days and never stop. Still, I will expect you to read it LOL. That was also a big problem that Max killed me for – my editorials, which were at 10k words. He would have my head for it.
Even though his criticisms were annoying in 2022, they continued to mould me into the writer I am, helping to condense information while still creating an interesting editorial for people to read and engage with. It was because of the writer’s block and being categorised that I was almost afraid to write a news post. What did I know about writing news posts?… Well, I did know a lot, but writing news and writing an editorial are completely different. There was part of me that felt like I could not write a news post well. Yet, upon rejoining, I threw myself into it and I did my first post quite fast with few errors (without me even proofreading it).
To Infinity And Beyond
I achieved Associate Editor soon after joining, on February 15. My momentum was there, and I entered bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. I would be lying if I said I did not see problems from the second I got promoted. However, after discussions, we made sure that any and all problems were squashed so that the media could become amazing. We worked hard and persevered, and ultimately it paid off. We went from January to July with many changes taking place and smashing out many amazing posts and ideas.
By April, I made my ascension to Managing Editor and then Editor in Chief in May, alongside Scorp, who was a literal godsend for CPA. Now that guy worked tirelessly, too. Along the way, I had many big changes from my affiliations to life, but one thing that never changed was my passion for writing.
Over the years I have been here, I have written many posts, editorials, satires, etc, and I am lucky to have had the platform to showcase what I can truly do with a pen in my hand. I am thankful that people have enjoyed my posts and shown their support, and I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to do so and to have everyone’s support. Actually, even the people who have not supported me only make my motivations grow. Let’s face it, the more people try to put someone down, the harder they will push back against it. Yet, for me, I just like writing. I am grateful for the trophies and awards YOU have voted me to win along the way.
Once I hit Editor in Chief, I had thoughts about progressing even further, but at the same time, I was leading the Army of Club Penguin, and there was nothing that could come between me and ACP. Not even an opportunity as big as that. Later in 2023, I was offered a promotion if I stepped down. However, I rejected it, and that left many questions, not only for those around me but also for me. Yet, I still had much to prove.
Ultimately, I didn’t reject being an Admin because it was “scary” or because it was cursed. I wanted more from my time in ACP. I wanted to take ACP to the highest of heights and prove that it was the best army at the time. Basically, I wanted to do everything in my power to take it there and showcase my abilities to get it there while also allowing for new blood to come through and rise up.
The Beginning of My Administration
As the year came to a close, I had thoughts about my retirement, leading me to leave ACP in March, after retiring from Leadership in late February and stepping down to Second in Command to help before I left. In April 2024, I was promoted to the Administration alongside Disha and Mchappy. This allowed me to gain an insight into everything that went on behind the scenes and how big the role actually was.
While it can be daunting for some, the role is not scary, and it’s not draining. However, it definitely goes understated how much work admins have to do to ensure the league is functional. Not only am I talking about the league and army side of things, but every single department that CPA has. The credit does go to the teams which run each department, but an Admin should be aware of everything and involved somewhat, whilst giving the Heads the freedom to run their department the way they want to and make decisions they need to.
My time as Administrator has been up and down, and I have been in this administration for over a year. We have seen creative tournaments, new map implementations, new heads, inspirational ideas and events and much more. It has been a pleasure to see all of these different things unfold whilst in the Administration, and to have been a key part of a league is always going to be an honour. It definitely was an honour for me. Also, I would like everyone to look forward to Blood Bowl 2, which will be taking place this year!! 😛
Looking back, I am amazed by how many posts I have written over time and how the fire still burns within to write. I have been able to write about some of the topics that I have thought about for a while, whilst also creating new debates to dive headfirst into, trying to provide engaging yet thought-provoking posts, and I think I have been able to do that. Towards the latter stages of my time here, I did start writing more community-based posts, whether it be satire or interview-based, but the reception these have had has been amazing to see, and it only encourages us to want to create more for all of you.
Sorry, I have written a lot about writing, which is ironic, but I have not said much about my time as an Admin. When I came in, I came in with the idea that I had experience from all sides of the community, OG armies, CPPS armies, small/medium armies, major armies, and the different “sides” that armies take. Hell, I switched from Special Weapons And Tactics to ACP. If that does not show the different sides of the community, I do not know what will and joining was the best decision I ever made.
I wanted to make the community much fairer for armies, giving SM armies more opportunities whilst also allowing them to not feel like they have everything to lose and nothing to gain. I wanted to inspire the community by bringing in new ideas and doing things that have not been done before. Luckily, with those who have been in the Administration alongside me, I have been able to do that. I have to thank Mare, Mchappy and Disha for being there to help accommodate everything that CPA has done. Each of these individuals are crucial to the success of CPA and everything CPA has done. They have come in with their own ideas and spearheaded them to the best of their abilities, helping to make CPA even more competitive and engaging than ever before.
Whilst CPA has had its setbacks, I am proud of what we have been able to produce. A tough question to answer is what my favourite thing of this Administrative run has been. Honestly, it is hard to think about, but I enjoy the intricacies of war and the ruling of everything. That kinda stuff I really love to work with because I know CPA like the back of my hand and it’s intriguing to see all of these different situations pop up and, as a former leader, I can relate to many situations while also disagreeing with their views completely LOL. But being a former leader definitely adds some perspective to it. It allows you to see things differently, and one thing I would always do is sit back and look at both sides. It is only then that you can see the full picture.
The End Of A Great Journey
Getting to this part of the post, I don’t quite know how to close it off or talk about everything that has happened, but one thing I will say is thank you. I was worried about how people would react to me becoming an Admin at first. I had goals, I had ambitions, but at the end of the day, I am also human, and I’m not scared to admit that. Yet, while some will always have doubts, I feel a great amount of respect from many throughout the community, and I can only thank every person for that. Disclaimer: This decision was my choice and my choice alone 🙂
Thank you to the current and past administrations for putting up with Coolguy all of this time! Thank you to Bull Hour for his absolutely incredible graphic for this post. It’s amazing! Thank you to the members of ACP who supported me and helped make my retirement from the army and step into CPA much easier. Your support will never be forgotten. Thank you to those who continue to stand by me and who have helped me throughout my time as an administrator. I could continue to state certain people, but I would be here for a while. If you know you would be mentioned, then you also know you have my thanks.
Now, my time as an Administrator has come to an end, but it is not the end for me. (Coughs hard* We have heard this story before – I should know, I wrote about it) I will still be here in the community. I will remain in armies. Most importantly, hopefully, I will remain here to write the occasional post just to keep the train going. Many will ask why choose to retire from CPA or why step down and go back into armies and these are indeed good questions, but sometimes no explanation is needed.
Everything happens for a reason, and there is nothing better a veteran can do than to contribute to the betterment of the community and to be the change they wish to see. This is exactly what I aim to do. The move I am about to make is massive, yet it is one that I am unwavering in. This move is about bringing a community back where it belongs, providing a home for a new generation of individuals. Also, a gift to you – Do not let anyone try to control you or the community. Their voices may be loud, but no one should remain in one place and take a chokehold over any part of this community – fight for what you love and do not settle for what you have. Fight for change and do not accept what is currently there. You all helped to create this community and you should always fight for it.
Thus, I will say – see you later – this is not farewell because we will meet again and I’m not going anywhere, but if you want to buy me a farewell gift, I would not reject 😉 LMFAO
If I could leave you with one last thing, it would be this:
Life is not a straight road; it is like living in a forest, constantly surrounded by darkness. You will never know which way is truly the right way, but you can feel, deep within you, which is the path you want to take, for whatever reason. It is not bad to make mistakes. It is not wrong to be wrong. But with each mistake and each misstep, embrace them and do everything you can to learn from them. This will only help you to forge a path which will be your own – a path that, while it may have logs and fallen trees in your way along the road, will be the best path for you. Never be deterred by obstacles. Never be afraid to make a decision that may seem scary because these choices are often the best ones you could ever make.
~ Signing off for one last time as your
Chief Executive Producer
Coolguy