I tell wonder-filled stories about hope and healing
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.
Today I’m putting on my theater director hat for the first time. I’m whipping up sangria and a Mexican buffet for the talented 15-member cast and production team of our play, Sing After Storms. For the very first time, everyone’s going to meet and we’ll run the table read to hear all of the actors say their lines. I’m off my rocker with excitement. This huge step forward feels amazing because we’re all taking it together. Go team!
I’ve often regretted holding on. I’ve never regretted letting go of anything. Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of letting go – of expectations, bad habits (great and small), insecurities, and stuffy routines. The release itself isn’t scary; it’s the anticipation of the release that can scare us into inaction. I don’t have any magic formula to get through that phase. We need a Nike attitude about it – just do it. Decide. Choose. Let go. Change. Act.
If you’re worried about dreaming too big, this is a good mantra to help squash that fear. In the end, you become the very best version of yourself and get exactly the dream you want. A true win-win. Go after those too big, too beautiful, too dangerous, too risky dreams. You deserve every bit of them.
Be stubborn about where you’re going and open about the paths you take to get there. There will be bumps, falls, scrapes, and bruises along the way. Those are not reasons to abandon the journey. They’re there to show you just how much the destination means to you. And when you look back on that long road, those mishaps will be the moments that taught you the most.
“When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills.” ~ Chinese proverb
Change can knock us down, and it can also provide the fuel we need to transform into our best selves. It makes us stronger, kinder, more empathic, and give us insights that our regular routines can’t provide. When I take a step back from my troubles, I get perspective that helps me see the possibilities that reveal themselves during tough times.
Exactly as Phin and I crossed Central Park to begin moving into our new apartment, the sun began to part the clouds after days of torrential rain and months of intense uncertainty. My first thoughts was, “You’ve gotta be kidding me, Mother Nature.” She wasn’t kidding; she can be so cliché and I’ve never loved a cliché more than I did at that moment. The lesson wasn’t lost on me: eventually the light always returns and we have the right to bask in it.
This apartment search has been a tough journey, and a good one. I feel stronger, braver, and more open to change as a result of it. I learned what was important, and what wasn’t. Best of all, I realized just how many incredible people I have in my life. Thank you all for sharing in this journey and being a part of the solution. You’re welcome to visit any time and help me explore my new neighborhood. Actually, I insist. Tomorrow my blog returns to its regularly scheduled programming of inspiration and encouragement. Today I’m spending the day saying thank you, for everything.
Today Phin and I will be movin’ on up in the true style of the Jeffersons. We’ll trek across the park to the Upper East Side to sublet from our lovely, kind, and incredibly generous friend, AraBella. After reading about our heinous apartment search via Facebook, she took pity on us after one hell of a crazy experience that showed me just how brutal the New York City real estate market has become. We’re so incredibly grateful to her!
New York City is changing a lot; I’m changing a lot. I never thought I’d want to own real estate. Now I know being a homeowner of some kind, somewhere, is in my future. Being at the mercy of a landlord every year is just not the way I want to live anymore. So now the question is where will this home be, and when will I get there. I have no idea what the answer is but at least I am clear on the question, and that’s half the battle, right?
In the meantime, Phin and I have a lot of exploring to do. We’re going to have to find our way around and develop some new routines. He’ll come through it like a champ; he always does. Me? Well, that remains to be seen. I’m going to let him lead. He’s got a better (and bigger) nose than I do. Luckily, we have a number of friends in our new neck of the woods and we’re hoping they will give us the inside scoop on everything wonderful around our new digs.
Here’s to change and everything that it has to teach us!
Our favorite blocks on the Upper West Side look like this
The Upper West Side of Manhattan has been my home for almost 7 years and I have loved it here. The community, the peace, the people. It was always my dream to live in this neighborhood. This was always my New York. I learned so much here, about myself and about the world. This is a time that I will always be grateful for, a time that I will always remember with a lot of affection. It wasn’t always easy, though I wouldn’t trade a day of it for anything. As my friend, Moya, recently said, “This is the end of an era.” She’s right.
Of course, I’ll be back. I still teach my yoga class for seniors over here every week. I have a feeling Phin might continue to want to trot over here on our walks now and then to say hi to our old building’s staff with whom he shares a close bond—mostly because they adore him and he loves the treats they always have for him! However, it won’t ever be the same. I’m closing the book on this chapter, and there’s some sadness in that. I’m comfortable here. I love my life here. If I could, I’d stay. But I can’t, so I won’t. I’ll miss it, a lot. I miss it already.
To be honest, I’m not ready. And to be even more honest, the universe doesn’t care that I’m not ready. It’s decided that I will start a new journey now and it won’t tell me exactly where I’m going. Just that I’m taking a trip.
Alright, universe. I hear you. I’ll go. Show me what it is you have to show me. Teach me what it is you have to teach me. In your own twisted way, you’ll lead me to exactly the place I’m meant to be. Just let Phin and I take one more spin around this afternoon. Let us walk by all our favorite haunts and greet all our neighbors as we’ve done so many times for so many years.
Thanks for the memories, Upper West Side. We’ve loved playing our part in your history, and we’ve loved having you as a part of ours. It’s a place we will not soon forget.
My habits are being shaken to the core right now: I’m moving to a new apartment in a new neighborhood and my workload and career are shifting. My play, Sing After Storms, is about to go into rehearsal, and that will drastically change my schedule. I have the feeling that I’m at the start of a very exciting and very long journey, and I don’t know exactly where it will lead nor what turns in the road to expect. I do know that I will have to navigate it purposefully and by intent. 3 cheers for self-made change!
