No matter where we are in life, there were internal and external battles we had to win to get here. If I’ve learned anything about people over the many years I’ve spent elevating people watching to a high art, it’s that everyone, everywhere, is fighting something every day. Always healing. Always overcoming.
I’m proud of the life I’ve built because of what I had to live through to get here. It’s so improbable on so many levels. If I were to go back and talk to a younger me, 5, 10 or 20 years ago and tell her what life would be like at 37, I’d never believe it. To make a living as a writer, to live where I live, to be blessed by amazing people in my life, to love and be loved so deeply and with such conviction, to have healed so much so I can offer the opportunity to heal to others, I wouldn’t believe it. 17-year-old me would never have been able to fathom it. I can barely believe now, in the midst of living it. It was a journey I never imagined.
When I think of all the dreams I have now, they seem improbable at best. They are so big, much bigger than me. And in those moments, my journey over the past 37 years is a great comfort. I close my eyes and I try to hear the wise voice of 57-year-old me, telling me that all the dreams I have at 37 are only the beginning of what’s in store for me over the next 20 years. I imagine her telling me about incredible things I will do that I have not even been able to fathom because right now they are actually impossible. Someday, and someday very soon, they won’t be because our world and our capabilities are changing, accelerating, so fast. The future is going to be amazing.
Then I open my eyes and take a full deep breath. I feel buoyed by confidence rather than weighed down by too-heavy dreams. I remember that today’s reality is so much more than any 17-year-old me in a tiny rural town ever thought possible. And that keeps me going. I may not be able to see around the bend, but it’s enough to know that someday I will.
The short of it:
Writer. Health, education, and art advocate. Theater and film producer. Visual artist. Product geek. Proud alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA). Inspired by ancient wisdom & modern tech. Proliferator of goodness. Opener of doors. Friend to animals. Fan of creative work in all its wondrous forms. I use my business skills to create passion projects that build a better world. Iāve been called the happiest New Yorker, and I try hard to live up to that title every day.
The long of it:
My career has stretched across Capitol Hill, Broadway theatre, education, nonprofit fundraising, health and wellness, and Fortune 500 companies in retail, media, entertainment, technology, and financial services. Iāve been a product developer and product manager, theater manager, strategic consultant, marketer, voice over artist, , teacher, and fundraiser. I use my business and storytelling to support and sustain passion projects that build a better world. In every experience, Iāve used my sense of and respect for elegant design to develop meaningful products, services, programs, and events.
While building a business career, I also built a strong portfolio as a journalist, novelist, freelance writer, interviewer, presenter, and public speaker. My writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, PBS.org, Boston.com, Royal Media Partners publications, and The Motley Fool on a wide range of topics including business, technology, science, health, education, culture, and lifestyle. I have also been an invited speaker at SXSW, Teach for America, Avon headquarters, Games for Change, NYU, Columbia University, Hunter College, and the Alzheimerās Foundation of America. The first book in my young adult book series, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, was acquired by a publisher and launched in November 2017. Iām currently working on the second book in the series.
A recovering multi-tasker, Iām equally at home in front of my Mac, on my yoga mat, walking my rescue dog, Phineas, traveling with a purpose, or practicing the high-art of people watching. I also cut up small bits of paper and put them back together as a collage artist.
My company:
Iām bringing together all of my business and creative career paths as the Founder of Double or Nothing Media:
ā¢ I craft products, programs, and projects that make a difference;
ā¢ I build the business plans that make what I craft financially sustainable;
ā¢ I tell the stories that matter about the people, places, and products that inspire me.
Follow my adventures on Twitter at https://twitter.com/christanyc and Instagram at https://instagram.com/christarosenyc.
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Christa Avampato 