Tag: future

creativity

Wonder: Zoe

Christa Avampato
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Zoe. “Life”

On Monday morning, Phineas and I are driving out to Virginia to meet Zoe, a beautiful 3-year-old chiweenie (half chihuahua / half dachshund) whom we hope to adopt. Zoe’s mom recently went into hospice care and passed away. One of her final wishes was for Dogs Deserve Better, an incredible dog rescue organization in Northern Virginia, to find Zoe a loving forever home.

Zoe means “life” in Greek. If she and Phin are a match, I promise her (and her mom, foster mom, and Dogs Deserve Better) that Zoe will have the happiest, healthiest, and most joyful life. She will be considered a gift that will be honored and respected and loved, as all lives should be, for all of her days.

creativity

Wonder: Telling stories takes you back in time

Christa Avampato

I’m working on a piece of writing for my dear friend, Amanda. She’s the best editor I’ve ever worked with, bar none. Whenever she asks me to write something for her, I jump at the chance every time. This particular assignment involved traveling back in time to the dark days of September 2008 when the world, my career, and my life was turned upside down by a frightening, unprecedented economic recession. I was working for a financial institution, an industry I swore I’d never join, and I was, in a word, terrified.

Rather than cower and hide, I rose up. To this day, I’m not sure where I found the strength. I guess the fear of losing my job and my livelihood was adrenalin for me. I took that energy that gets wasted by fear and used it to drive me forward, headfirst, right into the abyss of the unknown. I still shiver thinking about it. And then I smile. Time travel is a wild ride. We are so much stronger than we think we are.

creativity

Wonder: Music saves us

Christa Avampato

“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” ~Frederick Douglass

I heard this quote over the weekend during a tear-jerking story by journalist Steve Hartman. This story is about a 78-year-old partially paralyzed pianist, Norman Malone, who learned to play with only his left hand after his father almost bludgeoned him and his brothers to death with a hammer. I sobbed. The light and beauty in this man is present in his voice, his eyes, and his music. Even that horrid night couldn’t take music from him. He grew up to become a choral instructor so he could share his love of music with children. After all, it saved him, so of course it can save others.

Recently, finally, he had the opportunity to give his first public performance and it was stunning. And on that stage, through that stream of tears, he couldn’t find the words to express what that performance and what music means to him. He kept it to himself. And I couldn’t help but see that somewhere in him that sweet boy who survived such brutality lives on. And shines on, 70 years later.

Frederick Douglass was absolutely right. It is so much easier to build children up than to repair adults from the trauma of life. The arts, music, dance, writing, and all creative outlets help us hang on to our very essence and give us the opportunity to share it with others. I am heart-broken by Norman’s story, and I am also immensely inspired by it. Art saves. Art heals. Art perseveres.

 

creativity

Wonder: Guard your time

Christa Avampato

The older I get, the more precious time becomes to me. I have always been painfully aware of the passage of time. I’m constantly evaluating and re-evaluating my efficiency, the value of my activities, and the good I’m doing with the time I have.

While this might sound like an exhausting way to live, it’s actually more exhausting for me to think that I’m not using my time to the fullest. Now, that’s not to say I don’t relax, unwind, and enjoy my life. I do. It’s a priority for me to be at my best, and my best requires rest. And even in the rest, I know my mind and spirit are doing the valuable work of recharging and evolving.

I’m lucky and grateful beyond measure. I wake up with a purpose and I go to bed counting my blessings – the big and the small, the expected and the unexpected, the wanted and yes, the unwanted. And I wouldn’t want to use my time any other way.

creativity

Wonder: Night at the Newseum – Virtual reality is real

Christa Avampato

Last week, I went to an event about mixed-, virtual-, and augmented-reality at DC’s Newseum. My dear friend, F.J., told me about it and being the technology fiends that we are, we went over there together with our friend, Anisha. We tried on some new gear to get a sense of what’s happening in this new and rapidly emerging field. I drove down the streets of Cuba, Anisha took a flight with the Blue Angels, and F.J. explored a shipwreck. The degrees of quality varied, but the fun of seeing the future was equally palpable in all of it. We then sat together to hear a talented panel of journalists and media makers talk about how these technologies are altering the very real world of human experience in a broad sense, and the field of journalism and storytelling more specifically.

An intense amount of capital is pouring into MR, AR, and VR. Competitors in hardware and software are firing on all cylinders. Storytellers are undergoing a massive mind shift and stretching their imaginations to the nth degree. The future of this technology isn’t even clear enough to be called hazy. We are all, admittedly, fumbling in the dark trying figure out how, if, when, where, and why to take this new avenue.
I’m thinking about how to use it for Project Rubeus. Prestigious outlets such as The New York Times and the Washington Post are experimenting with mobile, immersive stories. The fields of healthcare, education, media, nonprofit, and travel are bending this new channel to their will to literally take students, customers, and consumers to places they never even imagined they could go.
I am intensely excited about this possibility and opportunity, as a business woman, technology lover, and writer with a passion for learning, teaching, and sharing. At the Newseum that night, a portal to a new, strange, and wild world opened and I happily walked through, virtually and literally.
creativity

Wonder: The resilience of children

Christa Avampato
“Kids will grow like weeds on a fence. She says, they look for the light, they try to make sense. They come up through the cracks, like grass on the tracks.” -Suzanne Vega
Never underestimate what a child can do. Through the toughest circumstances, they rise up. They deserve our support and celebration. They are grappling with new perspectives that we cannot even begin to understand. Their lens on the world is different from ours and they have so much to teach us. Pay attention to them because they are whispering of the world that has yet to be.
(Many thanks to my friend, Carolyn, for sending me this quote.)
creativity

Wonder: I’m going to be a homeowner

Christa Avampato

2016 has been a year of realized dreams so far, and here’s another one: I bought a condo! For the first time in my life, I’m going to own the home I live in. After so many years of moving, and not being sure from one year to the next where I’ll be, I’ll be settled in a place that will be my home. I close on Saturday, May 28th. It’s a one-bedroom in exactly the neighborhood I wanted. It has beautiful light, is newly renovated with a separately deeded and reserved off-street parking space, and a half block from a sweet community garden.

I’ve got a list of people a mile long to thank, and I will thank them with a housewarming party this summer. Here are some standouts:

I’m supremely grateful to my dear friends, Matt and Alex, for renting me an apartment here last February that enabled me to move to D.C., conduct a full-time job search, and save for a down payment. I wouldn’t have the life I have here without them and I don’t know how I will ever thank them enough for their generosity, kindness, and friendship.

Josh told me about DC Open Doors, an incredible program here in D.C. that provides an economic incentive for people to purchase a home in the District. Once he told me about that program, I had the courage to see myself buying sooner rather than later.

Sharif Ibrahim, my real estate agent, and Mark Eigenbrode, my loan officer and DC Open Doors representative, are a powerhouse team. I couldn’t have done this without them. I emailed Sharif on April 9th and I’m closing on a perfect place less than 2 months later.

It’s still hard to believe that this is actually happening. I have to keep pinching myself. Instead, I’m taking to Pinterest and scouring vintage shops, furniture stores, and antique shops. I’ve got a home, a real home, to furnish and decorate!

creativity

Wonder: A wrong righted 10 years later

Christa Avampato

 

10 years ago, I interviewed at a large retail company for a summer internship while I was an MBA student at Darden. It was my top pick for an internship and I was proceeding well in the process. The final step was a psychological evaluation that was supposed to be a formality. Instead, the psychologist dug into my family history for over an hour. She asked me a lot of very painful questions and was very judgmental about my childhood. I stood my ground, told the truth, didn’t crack, and stated how I did the best I could in the circumstances I was born into. I didn’t get the internship, and I was heartbroken. I thought the story was over, but it wasn’t.

A few months ago I received a letter from a law firm. A class action lawsuit was filed against this retail company for discriminatory hiring practices. The HR records had been subpoenaed and unsealed, and it was deemed that I may be due a payment for damages. I confirmed that I interviewed with the company during the time period in question, sent the letter back, and never gave it another thought.

When I arrived home yesterday, I had a letter from the law firm.The retailer confessed to its discriminatory practices, and settled out of court. The letter contained a check for damages. Not a huge check, but one that I can put to good use. I was shocked. I’m still shocked. I actually cried a little. And then I cried a lot. Not out of sadness, but out of relief.

I didn’t realize how badly I’d felt about this incident all these years. When you grow up without enough, you think you aren’t enough. It is a painful fact of growing up poor. And as much as I have grown into a strong, resilient, and confident woman, there is a small part of me who still carries around this slightest feeling of shame. I’ve learned to use it to go further, try harder, and reach higher.

That incident 10 years ago with the retailer brought all of those feelings into clear focus. I wasn’t mad that I didn’t get that internship. I was ashamed and deeply embarrassed because I knew that my family history made them turn me down. I was told I wasn’t good enough because I hadn’t grown up with enough. How hard I had worked for so many years to lift myself up didn’t matter to this company. And in fact it was a black mark against me.

So getting that check yesterday was a nice thing financially, but that is such a small benefit compared to what it means to me on a much more profound level. That is karma. That is the universe righting a wrong. That is the reward of standing tall, and not letting small-minded people get you down. That is proof to me that our authenticity, work ethic, and determination to making meaning of our past does get rewarded. It can take time. It can often take too much time. But it happens. It happens.

creativity

Wonder: Kennedy Center Arts Summit today

Christa Avampato

I’m spending today at the Kennedy Center Arts Summit presented in association with the Aspen Institute Arts Program and Citizen University.

“The Arts Summit is an annual spring convening, hosted by the Kennedy Center, designed to bring thought leaders from the arts and related fields together for conversation and connection. Set to be held in Washington, DC on April 25, 2016, the 2016 edition of the Summit will focus on Citizen Artistry, the idea of using the arts to influence positive change in people’s lives. Together, we will examine this idea, and its application in today’s society, through the lens of ideals John F. Kennedy set forth for our country during his Presidency: courage, service, justice, freedom, gratitude, exploration, and innovation. The program will serve as a blueprint and launching pad for both the Kennedy Center’s celebration of JFK’s 100th Birthday during the 2016-17 season, and for new collaborations and initiatives among participants.”

There are many ways for you to participate today, even if you can’t be at the event in D.C.

The agenda for the day can be found here.
The livestream will screen here.
Follow along on Twitter via the hashtag #artssummit.
I’ll be sharing what I’m seeing and hearing here.

creativity

Wonder: Looking for a home in D.C.

Christa Avampato

That’s it. I’m buying a home in D.C. After investigating my rental options, I discovered that buying is both less expensive and makes better long-term financial sense. In some ways it’s scary to put down these kinds of roots. In other ways, it’s freeing and comforting. I’ve decided to not be afraid and to channel all my energy into the excitement of becoming a homeowner for the first time. It’s one of the main reasons I moved to D.C., and now it’s time to make it happen. I’m madly in love with this city and I’m so glad I chose to move here for a thousand different reasons.

I have an amazing agent (Sharif Ibrahim) and an equally amazing loan officer (Mark Eigenbrode). I hit the jackpot with this combination of real estate talent and knowledge. I’m lucky beyond belief, and I know it.

So here’s to finding a home this week and making an offer. That’s my big goal, and I’m going for it!