On Sunday, I found my way to In Over Your Head, Julien Smith’s blog, via a tweet from Tim O’Reilly. He recently wrote a post about the importance of scars. We spend a lot of time avoiding disaster, avoiding the eventuality of hurt and pain. I’m not suggesting that we head out into the world searching for trouble. I’m just saying that I think scars are under-rated and we should be less afraid.
I started to think of all the times I didn’t say something or do something or feel something because the prospects of failure and hurt were just too great. I insulated myself in an effort to protect my feelings, my heart, and my spirit. There are times when I wonder what would have happened if I refused to ever be afraid, or at the very least if I never, ever let fear stop me from doing what I want to do. What if I never worried about getting scars?
Julien artfully connected stories with scars; he frames up the need for scars as a way to track our personal histories. The idea is simple and powerful. Take a look at your hands and your heart. Take note of the scars and blemishes and the imperfections. Hang on to the lessons of heartbreak, failure, and disappointment, and let go of the sadness they brought along with them. We need those lessons because without them we’d forget where we’ve been.
Published by Christa Avampato
IN BRIEF
Author, journalist, digital product manager, and licensed New York City tour guide. Creator and host of NYC's Secrets and Lies. Alumna of the University of Pennsylvania (BA), the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA), Arizona State University (Biomimicry), and the University of Cambridge (MSt in Sustainability Leadership).
I build digital media platforms, report on urban climate resilience and biodiversity, and produce live narrative experiences that connect communities to history, nature, and place.
THE DEEP DIVE
My work centers on a single thread: building systems and stories that foster deep connection to our shared world. Across digital streaming, environmental reporting, and live civic storytelling, I design experiences that help people understand complex ideas and the environments around them.
DIGITAL PRODUCT STRATEGY & MEDIA LEADERSHIP
At Carnegie Hall, I serve as Digital Product Manager, leading product strategy, operations, and technical delivery for the video streaming platform Carnegie Hall+. I translate artistic mission into scalable, high-performance streaming architecture that reaches audiences globally. Previously, I led agile product and delivery teams across operations and compliance at American Express, managed Broadway theatrical productions and national tours, and guided strategic initiatives across cultural institutions.
ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM & AUTHORSHIP
As a freelance journalist, I investigate how living systems, urban infrastructure, and human culture intersect. My reported features on urban decarbonization, biodiversity, coastal resilience, and biomimicry appear in publications including Smithsonian Magazine, The Washington Post, Mongabay, Natural History Magazine, and Foreign Policy Magazine. In fiction, I write the Emerson Page young adult novel series, alongside upcoming historical fiction and nonfiction works on New York history, mythology, and human resilience. I also write Togetherhood, a LinkedIn newsletter focused on urban ecology and community restoration, and co-host the podcast Frameworks in the Wild.
LIVE EXPERIENCE & CIVIC STORYTELLING
As a licensed New York City tour guide and live event producer, I transform urban landscapes into shared narrative encounters. I created, produce, and host NYC's Secrets and Lies, an interactive live storytelling series staged across cultural landmarks including the New York Transit Museum, the South Street Seaport Museum, and the historic tall ship Wavertree. I also design and lead site-specific walking tours exploring coastal ecology, food history, and neighborhood evolution, often with partners at Climate Week NYC and the Natural Areas Conservancy.
DOUBLE OR NOTHING MEDIA
Through my independent production studio, Double or Nothing Media, I develop ventures across media, ecology, and public history:
Digital Products & Strategy: Architecting scalable digital platforms, streaming experiences, and operational models for mission-driven institutions.
Environmental Reporting & Publications: Delivering long-form reporting, books, and newsletters grounded in climate resilience and regenerative design.
Site-Specific Live Storytelling: Producing immersive live shows and educational walking tours that engage public audiences in community history.
CONNECT
Website & Production Hub: doubleornothingmedia.com and christaavampato.com
Newsletter: Togetherhood on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/newsletters/togetherhood-7273771832221089792/
Instagram & Threads: @christarosenyc
Emerson Page Novels: emersonpagebook.wordpress.com/
View all posts by Christa Avampato
On Sunday, I found my way to In Over Your Head, Julien Smith’s blog, via a tweet from Tim O’Reilly. He recently wrote a post about the importance of scars. We spend a lot of time avoiding disaster, avoiding the eventuality of hurt and pain. I’m not suggesting that we head out into the world searching for trouble. I’m just saying that I think scars are under-rated and we should be less afraid. 
Hi Christa:
I think you are judging yourself too harshly here.
Then again, you may be on the right track. Who knows?
Sometimes, it depends on the situation.
Maybe the act of not opening your mouth, for example, may have averted a public scene.
In other words, discretion is the better part of valor, as the saying goes.
However, say you are in a different location–a private apartment, alone with the same person.
In that case, you can (maybe) afford to be more assertive.
Also, maybe it would be wiser to look at life as a series of events (process) instead of “success” or “failure.”
Life is, after all, a work-in-progress. Yet, sometimes we are too quick to judge, and labels, categories, even stereotypes are only too convenient for all of us.
LikeLike
Hi Archan,
Could be that I’m being a little bit harsh with myself, though that post really got me thinking. I certainly wear some scars, though I’ve shied away from a few of them, too. It’s interesting to think what would happen if we rarely, if ever, were worried about getting scars.
LikeLike
your last paragraph says it all.
LikeLike
Thanks, Jeanne. It was such a powerful sentiment me and I’m thrilled to share it on this blog.
LikeLike