Tag: community

creativity

Wonder: Be patient with yourself

Christa Avampato

“Nothing in nature blooms all year. Be patient with yourself.” ~Unknown

You won’t be at the top of your game every hour of every day for your entire life. It’s a balance. Sometimes you’re flying high and sometimes you’re hiding under the bed. Life is a wild ride, not a steady path. I spend a lot of time being very tough on myself. I know a lot of you do, too.

So as a reminder to us all, let’s remember there’s an ebb and flow to our days. Enjoy the highs and learn from the lows. Understand that it’s all a cycle, and eventually all we really need to do is take care of ourselves, take care of others, and do as much good as we can wherever we are with whatever we have.

creativity

Wonder: Join Creatives Connect to meet other D.C. creatives

Christa Avampato

CS-creativityMy friend, Corrine, organizes a Facebook group that promotes monthly events and meetups for creative people in D.C. Whether you have a creative career or just enjoy going to cultural events of any kind – art in any medium, writing, music, food, etc. – this is a wonderful group to join. I’ve been going to these events since September, when Corrine started organizing it. It’s been a source of inspiration and community for me, and I’ve loved meeting people through it (including Corrine!) Join the Facebook group at this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1005333856154073/. I hope to see you at the next event!

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: Do what you can where you are

Christa Avampato
path-through-the-foggy-forest-45100-2560x1600-1
A short distance ahead

“We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done.” ~Alan Turing

We can now see further than at any other time in history. Social media, virtual reality, and a news industry that reports in real time through rich media can take us to any corner of the world with a few clicks.

In terms of time, we can only see and know this moment. We can only forecast and hypothesize about later today, tomorrow, next month, and next year. We’ll know how it all shakes out once we get there. For now, let’s just make the most of what we have and know and can do right now, from wherever we are, using whatever we have. If we can all do that, we’ll be able to build a better world together. It all adds up.

creativity

This just in: Reading Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates while traveling

Christa Avampato
My travel companions: Between the World and Me on my Kindle, passport, and neck pillow
My travel companions: Between the World and Me on my Kindle, passport, and neck pillow

Reading while traveling has always been special to me. While I’m learning about other cultures, books help me see how much I have to learn about my own home. While I was in Sarajevo and Budapest, I read Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. It is a tough and necessary read, especially for Americans who aren’t black. While I will never truly understand what it means to be black in America, I do want to understand as much and as best I can. This book forced me to wake up.

I live just north of Howard University, where Coates went to school and where his father worked for many years. After reading this book, I see Howard in a new light. That is sacred ground for its students because for many, their time there is the beginning of them feeling fully accepted and respected by those around them.

Coates talks about the constant pursuit by black Americans to work twice as hard to get half as far as whites in America. He talks about The Dream and The Dreamers, and how neither are fully accessible, much less possible, for many black people in America. He talks about the constant message we send to black youth—when dealing with storied institutions here, keep your head down, your mouth shut, and your eyes and ears open for danger. This book, and its truths, broke my heart

I will fully admit that I cried through much of the book, out of sadness, embarrassment, and anger. 250 years on from the end of the Civil War and still, it rages on in the streets all over this country. I had hoped the book would wrap up with ideas of how to solve the struggle. It didn’t. And maybe that’s the point. We can’t erase history. We can only learn from it and use it as context to frame the situation currently at-hand. Coates wrote this book as a guide to taking the first step on the journey, not a guide to get to some pre-determined destination.

With this book, I have more awareness and understanding of the anger and fear felt by the black community, especially in light of the year we’ve had. And that’s a start.

creativity

This just in: FotoWeekDC kicks off tonight

Christa Avampato
Paris Fashion Week, Spring 2014. Photo by Dina Litovsky, winner of 2015 Photojournalism stream.
Paris Fashion Week, Spring 2014. Photo by Dina Litovsky, winner of 2015 Photojournalism stream.

Tonight I’m attending my first Instameet in D.C. at the Former Spanish Ambassador’s Residence in my plucky neighborhood of Columbia Heights. IGDC and FotoDC are sponsoring the special event that will showcase the residence’s exhibit before it opens to the public as part of FotoWeekDC. Over the course of the next week, I’ll be attending classes, workshops, and exhibitions that highlight all of the incredible photography that happens here in the D.C. area. I hope you’ll join me and take part in this wonderful celebration that captures life one frame at a time. Details on all of the FotoDC events can be found at http://www.fotodc.org/events-fotoweekdc-2015/.

creativity

This just in: Educating young hearts

Christa Avampato
Educating hearts and minds
Educating hearts and minds

“When educating the minds of our youth, we must not forget to educate their hearts.” ~Dalai Lama

The other day I ran into someone I used to know. He’s always had a bit of a melancholy personality, but he seems to have gone even further down that sad, dark tunnel. Though I felt badly for him, I also recognize that there’s nothing I can do for him except hope that someday he digs himself out of it. It’s the tough thing about loving and caring for adults: they make their own choices and we can only influence them through example.

Kids, however, are different. We can have a much bigger impact and impression on them as they grow and develop into adults. And this is why education in the most holistic sense is so critical. A moment in a child’s life, good or bad, can completely change the trajectory of his or her life, and often does. While there’s no doubt that we need to focus on growing their knowledge base, let’s also remember that educating their hearts—letting them know how much they are valued and that they need to value others—is at least as important.

Love can, and should, be taught.

creativity

This just in: The 3 things we all need to hear

Christa Avampato
The message we all need
The message we all need”3 things students want to hear:

“3 things students want to hear: I believe in you. You have a purpose. How are you?”

This was posted by Edutopia (George Lucas Education Foundation) this week. While it’s positioned as what we need to tell students every day, it’s something we all need. This is something we should give to others and also expect to receive in return from everyone in our lives. We all deserve this level of care and concern.

creativity

This just in: Look right through unhappiness with joy

Christa Avampato
Hang on to your joy
Hang on to your joy

“Start ignoring people who threaten your joy. Literally, ignore them. Say nothing. Don’t invite any parts of them into your space.” ~Alex Elle

Look right through people who interrupt, disturb, or attempt to steal your joy. They’re not your work to do. They aren’t your responsibility. They aren’t worth your energy, time, nor effort. You go on being your magnificent, talented, beautiful self. The best you can do for them is to inspire them with the ripples of true joy flowing from you into the Universe. And if that’s not enough for them, then they aren’t enough for you.

creativity

This just in: My friend could use your love

Christa Avampato
Send love
Send love

Though I’m not a religious person, I do believe passionately in the power of community and love. One of my very dearest friends was dealt an incredible loss last week. If you have any spare thoughts, prayers, and virtual hugs, she and her family could really use them now. Let the goodness flow through you and out into the Universe in the hopes that we can brighten the skies a bit for everyone. Thank you so much.