Category: hope

care, career, holiday, hope, job, New Years Eve

My Year of Hopefulness – Day 1

Christa Avampato

On December 23, 2008, I began a daily log of acts of kindness after writing a blog post about small moments that made my day. I realized in the 15 minutes that it took me to write that post that I had a very simple New Year’s Resolution: I wanted to feel more hopeful in 2009 and I wanted to do my part to generate more hope for others. From that blog post and simple wish, I am starting an extraordinary year of giving and receiving.


I don’t typically write series of articles on this blog. To help me keep my New Year’s Resolution, I will be writing a daily blog post, in addition to my other regular posts, about what I am doing to be more hopeful and generate more help for others. It will be a good reminder to me, and I hope that it may do readers some good as well. 


The economy is weighing heavily on people’s minds at the start of this year. People are facing layoffs and possibly the bankruptcy of the companies they work for, particularly in certain industries such as retail. As a result, it can be pretty tough to get up for work in the morning. Even if you are lucky enough to keep your job in this downturn, and you are indeed lucky if you’re in that boat, there will be added stress as you may be doing the work of two or three people, and being asked to do that work with no additional compensation or resources. 

So what can we do to make that trip out the front door a bit better? This evening I made up a small sign that I taped to the inside of my front door, right by the door knob, that details what I am achieving and working toward at this current job and the good things about my position that I should be grateful for. It will be a good reminder every morning before I head out for work. If you are facing some discomfort in your current job, maybe this tactic will help you as well. 

Happy New Year!
dreams, education, hope, youth

A Lesson in Teaching

Christa Avampato

This morning Junior Achievement was on-site at my office building for a day of financial education. I co-taught the first session: A Day in the Life. We discussed feelings about money, sources and uses of it, and the value of savings and making a budget. Those 16 sets of eyes were some of the most discriminating I have ever been in front of. They are reacting to the teacher, to their peers, to the person at the front of the room, all while searching for self-definition. Quite a mixture of emotion, and therefore, behavior. 


We got through the lesson with little pain. Though nervous, I found it was helpful to put on the face of confidence and push through without stuttering or stopping except for questions from the group. I forgot nearly every one of the notes I had memorized. When in doubt of what to say next, I asked for participation, and the students happily responded quickly and intelligently.

I co-taught for close to an hour and then returned to my day. I will admit that today was more irritating than most of my days. It seemed that I would put out one fire and then find that another one had been building strength just behind me. And this went on for several hours. By lunch time, I was cranky. The last thing I felt like doing was having lunch with 16 high school students. But I went because I promised I would go. 

Bob, my previous boss, continually says that there is magic in commitment. I learned that lesson today in a few short minutes, and it was taught to me by a group of 16 year-olds. If you’re ever wondering how old you are, sit with a group of high school students, and will quickly become apparent. Over sandwiches and pasta salad, we talked about their studies, their schools, their hopes for their futures. During our conversation, I felt my frustration lift and dissipate. They made my day brighter by shining their own light on me, and for that I am very grateful. Lesson learned…
election, hope, Obama, politics

O-ba-ma

Christa Avampato

“O-ba-ma”. That is the chant that is echoing down the streets of my neighborhood. People throwing back their heads in laughter. Cars beeping their horns in celebration. There is joy in the air. 

We have a long road ahead to rebuild this nation, to heal this world that has been plunged so deeply into despair. And while hope is not a strategy, it is certainly a tool, something that will build us up, something that will give us confidence to keep going, in spite of the tough times that lie ahead.
We banded together. And we did it. We stood up, we let our voices be heard, and we count.   
election, hope, Obama, politics

What Obama means to me

Christa Avampato

I am one of those people that Barack Obama talks about all the time – I am frustrated and disheartened by politics. I feel let down by our government and its officials. I’ve long thought that there is nothing that any politician can do that would get me to believe again in our government. For me, business has been the answer. A free market economy can do much more for peace and prosperity than any government. Until now. 


Usually I don’t write about politics on this blog, though I think by my expressed beliefs and opinions it is obvious that I am a liberal. Until this year, I have never belonged to a political party and I have never made a political donation. After 8 years of watching us go down the wrong path in every area: education, healthcare, foreign relations, the economy, the environment, I couldn’t be an “NE” anymore and there’s no way I could ever be a Republican. 

So I became a Democrat and I voted for Hilary Clinton in support of a woman whom I very much believed would fix healthcare, an issue that I have grown increasingly passionate about since my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer nearly two years ago thanks to advanced technology that found the smallest of tumors and treated it effectively. 

I have always liked Barack Obama; I have read his books, and now that he is the nominee, I support his efforts whole-heartedly, with my money, with my writing, and with my time. After hearing his speeches, I cannot help but feel hopeful, and it has been so long since I felt that sense of hope in our government that I barely recognized it when it hit me.  

I believe that he is like the greatest of stage directors – honest, passionate, and unifying. He listens and speaks with conviction, not stating opinion as fact but making his case to bring seemingly disparate parties together. He’s decent and fair to the point that he softened the sharp edge I develop every time I hear the word “politics”. He makes me feel like we can and will be safe in this uncertain world. I feel his energy through the TV and in the people who support them. He may be our first President in a very long time who gets that leadership is about service, not ego. 

He has already moved mountains by motivating millions of people like me around the world to get interested again in our government and the people who run it. And if he can do that, imagine what he’ll be able to do as our Commander in Chief? To me, he is a rock star in every good sense of that word. He makes me proud and optimistic, and in this day and age that is exactly what we all need.