creativity

In the pause: Walls are made for climbing

Christa Avampato

unnamedThis week, the many different threads at my job started to connect. It’s immensely gratifying to learn a large and complex technology platform, all for the sake of bringing more art, theater, music, and dance to more people. The vertical learning curve is becoming a little less vertical. Or maybe I am just becoming a more adept climber.

This idea of scaling walls reminded me of this sign I saw a few months ago when I was shoulder-deep in my job search, including interviewing for my current job. I wasn’t sure what would happen in my search, or what I would do about what would happen when it did happen. (This is how my ind works. It’s in a constant state of whirring.) What I needed was a sign, so I asked for one as I made my way up Fifth Avenue from the New York Public Library to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. That’s when I saw this sign in the North Face storefront: Walls are meant for climbing. And about 30 minutes later, I heard from my now current job that I was moving on to the next and final round. Less than a week later, they offered me the job.

It’s this sense of optimism, asking the Universe for guidance, and then opening our eyes and ears to take in the wisdom around us that we have to take with us everywhere we go, into every situation that we face. We may not always be successful though our odds dramatically increase when we can look at a wall not as a roadblock, but as a reason to smile. I got this. You got this. We all got this.

creativity

In the pause: Go on and love yourself

Christa Avampato

‘i love myself.’

the
quietest.
simplest.
most
powerful.
revolution.
ever.”

―Nayyirah Waheed

This poem is a powerful reminder of the magic that can happen in our lives when we really love who we are. It becomes a way to protect ourselves and also to let others in. When we love who we are, we are imbued with grace and confidence. Nothing can really hurt us if we love who we are. We defend, fight for, and nurture what we love. And here’s the best part: when you become a constant supporter of yourself and your dreams, you have so much more to offer to others.

creativity

In the pause: What men can do in the wake of #MeToo

Christa Avampato

The outpouring of honesty and support in the wake of #MeToo stories is the only light I can see in this darkness. With every post, I am growing even more resolved to help women and girls discover and use their voices to speak their truths. I have also been very grateful for the men in my life who have come forward to say, “I hear you. I see you. I believe you. What can I do to help?” Here are my answers:

  • Be a role model for young men and boys. Whether you’re a father, uncle, teacher, family friend, or mentor, you have an opportunity to teach young men and boys how to be upstanding people. Use that opportunity wisely.
  • When you see poor behavior from other men, speak out against it right then and there in the moment. On the street, at work, at bars and restaurants, on the subway. Yes, the problem is that rampant and pervasive. It’s everywhere.
  • Listen and talk to the women and girls in your lives about their experiences. Be their allies and advocates. They will appreciate your support.
  • Help to raise our girls and boys to have a zero tolerance policy for violence of any kind—physical, emotional, and verbal.
  • And if you don’t know what to do or say, ask us. Together, we can break this cycle so women and girls no longer have to live with the scars of sexual harassment and assault.

 

creativity

In the pause: Me too. And other things on my mind related to the rampant problems of sexual assault and harassment.

Christa Avampato

Me too.

If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote “Me too.” as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem.

And here are some other things that are on my mind as I watch my social media feeds fill up with this very sad realization that we have been harmed for far too long:

– As someone who has had to call people out for poor behavior (publicly, loudly, and repeatedly), we must have each other’s backs. It is an extremely sad fact that I have experienced even more bullying from other women than I have from men. Even though bullying is not assault, it is certainly harassment. And ladies, we just cannot tolerate this anymore, collectively or individually. Women who treat people badly, whether those people are male or female, must also be called on the carpet and stopped.

– This is not a male versus female problem. This is a human problem. I am incredibly fortunate that the men in my life are upstanding, respectful, and kind. (As one friend recently pointed out, a**holes don’t last long in my world.) Ladies, if someone mistreats you, promptly get rid of him. And if there are reasons you can’t get rid of him, then get help immediately from friends, family members, support groups, co-workers, or public services. This kind of man is not good enough for you. Either he treats you well, or he gets his walking papers. Period. I have seen far too many of my amazing female friends waste their time and energy in relationships with men who do not deserve them. It’s far better to not be in a relationship than to be in one with a man who isn’t good for you. I have learned this the hard way.

– Do not suffer in silence. Intimidation is one of the prime ways that sexual harassment and assault is perpetuated, and perpetrators count on the fact that you won’t say something to someone. Stand up, speak out, and get support. If you don’t know who to call, then call me. I’ll help. I’ll always help.

creativity

In the pause: You have to ask to receive

Christa Avampato

Ask. For help. For a promotion. For a raise. For advice. For a date. The power of the ask can’t be underestimated. Hoping for better days and success is a fine thing to do though if we really want something to manifest, I only know one way to make it happen: we must put ourselves out there. Way out there. Pitch yourself to anyone and everyone whom you’d like to meet and know and work with. Find the win-win. Have confidence. Have faith that the more often you raise your voice, the more likely you are to find your tribe.

creativity

In the pause: My book about Emerson Page goes to Germany thanks to Books on the Run

Christa Avampato

Germany, Emerson may be seated next to you on your commute some day soon. I just finished a fun video interview for my book, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, with the lovely sisters Davina and Samantha who run Books on the Run Germany, the German chapter of Books on the Move Global. They interview authors and run a mobile library in Germany. For the mobile library, they leave books on the public transit system in Germany for people to find, read, and then return to any German public transit system for others to find and read.

My book will be part of their transit program next month. Our video interview as well as a separate video of me reading a passage of the book will all be available soon. Stay tuned!

Thanks to Davina and Samantha for being such wonderful hosts. I have a feeling that Emerson will find herself in Germany in a future book. After all, Germany invented the movable-type printing press and printed the first book in history, the Gutenberg Bible, two copies of which are at the Morgan Library here in New York City. I sense some kismet and synchronicity coming on…

creativity

In the pause: I stopped by Megyn Kelly Today to chat about how shoppers can use the psychology of retail store design to save money

Christa Avampato

Thank you so much to Megyn Kelly Today for having me on the show! Happy to share the segment with former flight attendant Bobby Laurie, waiter and author Darron Cardosa. Check out the clip below:

creativity

In the pause: Copies of my novel, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, arrived on my doorstep

Christa Avampato

unnamedThere’s no feeling quite like getting a box of your books delivered to your door. Yesterday I got to experience this feeling first-hand, and it is amazing. I looked at my box of Emerson Page books, now bound for reviewers, and thought about all of the time, effort, and love that I poured into every speck of the them. My heart flooded with gratitude for all of the encouragement and love that I’ve received from friends and mentors during this long and winding road to publication. Though we’ve come so far, this is really just beginning. We have many books ahead of us. Many stories to tell, people to meet, and places to travel together. I can’t wait to share this with all of you.

The book is now available for pre-order on Amazon at amzn.to/2wAhmvG. If you’re interested in a review copy of the book or partnering with me in some way, please let me know at christa.avampato@gmail.com.

creativity

In the pause: Day of the Girl and Emerson Page, a justice fighter

Christa Avampato

unnamedMy book, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, will be released three weeks from today. It’s the story of a young girl who is searching for answers to life’s greatest questions; a young girl who empowers herself and others to fight for justice. On this Day of the Girl, I hope that my book shines a light on the actions of young people and their incredible potential to make this world a better place.

creativity

In the pause: How Writing Frees Us to Free Others – my post for #ShatteringStigmas on the blog It Starts at Midnight

Christa Avampato

I’m so honored to be a part of the #ShatteringStigmas series on the wonderful book blog It Starts at Midnight. I’ve been following Shannon’s excellent writing, and when I saw that she was doing a program around erasing the stigma of mental illness, I wanted to share the story behind the story of the mental health plotline in my book, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters. Shannon gave me the chance to do that, and it is one of the first times that I am speaking about my own struggles and the healing process of writing my book. I hope you’ll check out the story on Shannon’s site. There is an excerpt of it below.

If you’d like to get my book, it’s now available on Amazon pre-order at amzn.to/2wAhmvG.

“The wound is the place where the light enters you.” ~Rumi

“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” ~Leonard Cohen

These two quotes gave me the title for my young adult book, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters. But what the title doesn’t tell you is that there was a long and winding road, often painful and treacherous, that brought me to Emerson. For me, she’s not just a character derived from my imagination. She is the manifestation of a journey that showed me that we are stronger, braver, and more courageous than any of us can ever imagine. To me, she is the very definition of life.

In the five years leading up to when I first put pen to paper to write her story, I had been struggling with the effects of PTSD. On September 5, 2009, one of my neighbors in New York City blew up her gas stove. She had been cooking, oil spilled, and rather than shut off the gas, she just ran out of the building. I was in my apartment on the fourth floor. I had just gotten out of the shower and noticed that the radiator in my kitchen was hot and making a ticking sound. I looked down at the floor around the radiator and saw the tiles heaving up and down. Something was terribly wrong, but I didn’t know what. I grabbed my keys (which now seems completely futile) and went out of my apartment to knock on my neighbor’s door downstairs. They had been doing construction on that apartment and I thought that may be causing the tile and radiator issue. I was wrong. Very, very wrong.

The second I walked out of my apartment, I was consumed by an unending cloud of black smoke. Read more…