Author: Christa Avampato

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. I’ve 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. I’ve 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, I’ve 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 Alzheimer’s 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. I’m currently working on the second book in the series. A recovering multi-tasker, I’m 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: I’m bringing together all of my business and creative career paths as the Founder of Double or Nothing Media: • I craft products, programs, and projects that make a difference; • I build the business plans that make what I craft financially sustainable; • 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.
creativity

Wonder: It’s okay to stop and float

Christa Avampato

shutterstockSNORKELING_122485123On Saturday morning, I went snorkeling in the ocean inlet by my hotel in Puerto Rico. Clad in slightly too-big flippers, a suction mask, and breathing tube, I proceeded to slightly hyperventilate. I didn’t learn to swim until I was 30, and the open water is still a scary, albeit magical, place for me. It’s initially disconcerting not to be able to breathe through my nose. After standing and breathing with my mask for a few minutes, I was able to calm down and get used to the altered breathing pattern. Then I was able to happily kick and float along the water’s surface in search of tropical fish and and coral tucked among the flowing sea grass.

At one point my arms and legs got tired (I had spent most of the night before on the dance floor at my friends’ wedding) so I just stopped and watched. The fish nibbled on the grass below and I just floated, all of us supported and rocked by the gentle tides of the ocean. I didn’t have to do anything in that moment except be present and observe. And it was glorious.

Now that I’m back on dry land, far away from that beautiful island, I’m trying to hold on to that lesson. Sometimes all that’s needed is our presence. Sometimes showing up makes more of a statement that any words or actions. Once in a while, it’s okay to let go and float. It’s surprising how much support we actually have all around us if we just stop and take it in.

creativity

Wonder: La Hora Loca

Christa Avampato
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Me dancing with the man on stilts during la hora loca

La hora loca is a Latino wedding tradition that reminds me of carnival. Just as the dance floor at my friends’ wedding in Puerto Rico this weekend was slowing down just a tad, a team of bold and brash drummers, followed by 2 men clad in colorful costumes on stilts, barged into the dining room. Giving out giant foam hats and head accessories, they wound their way through the tables and found the dance floor. Singing, laughing, clapping, and dancing with the crowd, they proceeded to conduct us for a solid hour in how to immerse ourselves in collective and rhythmic joy. It’s the best wedding tradition I’ve ever witnessed. It’s what a wedding, and life, is all about.

creativity

Wonder: See what you can see and do what you can do

Christa Avampato

2-24HonorLight“Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever.” ~ Anthony Doerr, All the Light We Cannot See

Last night I saw my friend, Tunde, a person who shares my passion to do something good with her time and many talents. Our conversation last night reminded me from this quote of the novel All the Light We Cannot See. There is a light within all of us that spurs us to make the world around us a better place. And there are so many avenues to let that goodness shine, so many places and people that need the gifts and talents we have to offer.

Our only job is to find the path that is meant for us, the avenue on which we can be of greatest use to as many people as possible. There’s no one answer. There are many. Every morning, I wake up and say the following to myself: “thank you, and universe, please help me figure out how to help as many as I can, as much as I can, with this day.” And that’s what I intend to do. Ready? Let’s do this.

creativity

Wonder: Anyone can be anything – a lesson from Zootopia

Christa Avampato

zooTopiasmI saw an advanced screening of Zootopia last night. I hope every child, and every adult who’s a child at heart, gets a chance to see it. The message of the film—with determination and a desire to build a better world, anyone can be anything—is a message that the entire world needs now more than ever.

Too often, people are defined by their past when what counts is how we want to use our past to move forward. That gumption and passion to do something good with our lives is more powerful than we realize. Intention, backed up with a lot of elbow grease and a good heart, moves mountains. So the next time you catch yourself in a moment of self-doubt, or when someone else is doubting you, I hope you’ll pause and say these words – “I never know when to quit.” Those six words can change a life – yours.

(And just for fun, here are 20 incredible fun facts about the making of Zootopia, courtesy of our friends at Collider.com: click here.)

creativity

Wonder: Be always blooming

Christa Avampato

be-always-bloomingSunday was a pretty spectacular day. I did most of my must-do items on Saturday so Sunday was a day to do whatever I wanted. It warmed up into the 60s, and Phin and I took a 2+ hour walk around our neighborhood. We enjoyed the sun, the warmth, and the many people and pups who stopped us to say hello. Every restaurant had its outdoor seating open. You could see the warmth seeping into people’s faces and opening up their smiles.

It’s supposed to snow on Friday. Though I do like the chilly weather, I’m looking forward to more than a taste of spring. It will be here in just a few short weeks. For me, the seasons are just the right length here in Washington, D.C. Just when I’m ready for a change, it arrives. No matter what the season, something’s always blooming.

creativity

Wonder: It’s time to be planted

Christa Avampato
Be planted
Be planted

“Sometimes when you’re in a dark place you think you’ve been buried, but you’ve actually been planted.” ~Christine Caine

Some of my friends are in a tough spot right now. They’re having a tough time seeing a way forward. They feel knocked down and dragged out into situations that they didn’t see coming and wouldn’t have chosen for themselves. This is a tough place to be. It’s uncomfortable. It feels hopeless. It’s disappointing.

In moments like this, I find that this quote by Christine Caine is most powerful. Take what you can learn from these awful experiences, even if they are lessons you had no interest in learning. Let them strengthen your resolve, refine your talents, and sharpen your skills of observation. Watch for actions and outcomes. Step back and clearly identify what you would do differently, and why, and how that might change things.

This is your time of incubation. This is a time of growth and evolution that can lead you to a personal revolution if you take the opportunity as it comes. Be planted so that when the light returns, you can shine.

creativity

Wonder: Swimming in Dark Waters with Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, and Bhi Bhiman

Christa Avampato
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(From left to right): Leyla McCalla, Rhiannon Giddens, and Bhi Bhiman at Lisner Auditorium

“If you want to understand what’s happening today, find out what happened 150 years ago. If people had the courage to live that history, the least I can do is read about it.” ~Rhiannon Giddens

Last night I went to see and hear Rhiannon Giddens, Layla McCalla, and Bhi Bhiman perform at Lisner Auditorium in a performance they called Swimming in Dark Waters: Other Voices of the American Experience. While work songs and spirituals have been songs of protest and freedom, Rhiannon explained that they wanted to travel a different musical road last night. They wanted to use a mashup of folk, classical, and pop to tell a story of struggle, personal power, love, change, and hope. It was an incredibly powerful performance. Their voices, music, and message were so concentrated that they pierced the hearts and minds of the packed house.

All of the songs were rooted in culture, history, and art, and for me that was the message I needed. History is a potent tool. It can help us make sense of what’s happening around us now, and inform the decisions we make going forward. I left the concert feeling both whole and heartbroken, sad and joyful, determined and dreamy. And that’s the magic of music – it can make us feel so much all at once and then help us to reconcile the internal and external difference.

creativity

Wonder: Remake your space for your future self

Christa Avampato
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Who will you be?

“The space in which we live should be for the person we are becoming now, not for the person we were in the past.” ~Marie Kondo

So often we define ourselves by where we’ve been and what we’ve accomplished, not where we’re going nor what we’re working on. We let our past determine our future. What if we decided to craft ourselves in the image of our dreams? How much further would we go and how much more would we do if we exchanged our anchors for wings? I’d like to find out. Are you in?

creativity

Wonder: Just bloom

Christa Avampato
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photo by Robert Mapplethorpe

“A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms.” ~Zen Shen

Imagine if we could take this cue from flowers – just let ourselves grow and glow without caring how we measure up to others. The truth is we won’t ever measure up to others and they won’t measure up to us. We all have such unique gifts and talents to offer. The way we experience life is unlike the experience of anyone else, and that makes our perspective special in every way. Revel in that and just bloom.

 

 

creativity

Wonder: Josh Ritter and Elephant Revival make me happy

Christa Avampato
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My favorite shot of Josh Ritter at the 9:30 Club. A musical watercolor.

Last night I had the supreme pleasure of seeing and hearing Josh Ritter and Elephant Revival live at the 9:30 Club. I danced until my feet hurt and smiled until my cheeks ached. It was a fantastic display of the power of music to make us whole and connect us to others. Music makes the good times better and the tough times manageable. It helps us celebrate and it helps us grieve. It’s a constant companion, and for that I’m very grateful.