Tag: history

creativity

In the pause: Help my discover the secrets hidden underground and overhead in New York City

Christa Avampato

I’m completely obsessed with the secrets of New York City. It’s haunted in the best possible ways. As I write Emerson Page’s second book, I’m learning that there is so much here she needs to discover. I need to explore these secrets first-hand, and I want you to go with me! Interested? I’m now amassing a list of tours and places that I’ll be poking around in the coming months. Here’s a sampling of what I’m finding:

  • Hidden places, often in plain sight. Wormholes, secret passageways, and underground art installations.
  • The strange and mysterious history hidden in the architecture that rises up dozens of stories high everywhere we go.
  • Secret ways to get up close to priceless treasures that are usually impossible to access.

This city literally breathes. It’s always whispering to us. I’m listening and getting it all down as best I can. I hope you’ll join me in this pursuit.

creativity

In the pause: Why we must take the time to study science history

Christa Avampato

If there is any lesson we can take from science history it’s this: the odds were never in our favor. It took an infinite number of circumstances to line up in a very specific way to make our existence possible. Pull out one of those evolutionary Jenga blocks and the very idea of humans comes crashing down. We survived by living in the now and adapting to constant change.

So how does this apply to our lives at this very moment? Somewhere deep within you there may be a dream you’re not pursuing for one simple reason: fear that the odds are against you. Stop thinking about the odds of success or failure, and just forge ahead. You’re already a true miracle; we all are. Don’t squander that gift. Give your very best in this and every moment. Stop trying to understand now and predict tomorrow. We can’t do either. We’re only able to understand life by looking backward.

History is and will always be our best teacher. Use its lessons. The sense in all of it will come later, with time and perspective. Your only job now is to live as well as you can. Stop trying to get it right, and just get it done.

creativity

In the pause: An unlikely life

Christa Avampato

Yesterday I spent some time talking to a friend of mine who’s a real estate agent. She’s helping me get on a path to homeownership here in New York, which is not a task for the faint-hearted. After talking about my financial picture, we talked about the idea of willing dreams into existence. This last set of years have at times been extraordinarily difficult for me and greatly blessed. All in, they have led me to the place I am now: in my favorite neighborhood in my favorite city, starting what I have high hopes will be a dream job, and a book 8 years in the making about to be published in just over a month. A year ago, this scenario was unlikely. Hell, it felt flat-out impossible. Today, it’s my everyday life, and I don’t take a single moment of it for granted. It’s not perfect, but I’m extraordinarily grateful for it, even in the moments when I’m most challenged. With effort and a belief in the wisdom of what we don’t yet know or understand, life becomes exactly what we imagine it can be. Every difficulty and blessing I’ve had was needed; each one played a role in making my life today possible. Perspective is a beautiful thing.

creativity

In the pause: Write and live like you’re running out of time—another lesson from Hamilton

Christa Avampato

“Why do you write like you’re running out of time?” ~Aaron Burr, “Non-Stop” from the musical Hamilton

Sometimes the best thing you can do with your neuroses is accept them and work within them. I think that might be the secret to life.

Hamilton has a way of teaching us so many lessons, about history, economics, and life. There are many ways to describe Alexander Hamilton and I think there is one that stands above all others—non-stop. Something in him knew his life would be short; he had seen so much loss at such a young age. He understood how fleeting life can be. He wrote and worked and loved and lived like he was running out of time because he was. We all are.

I’m not suggesting that this is the only way to live. I’m not even suggesting that it’s a good idea to focus so maniacally on what we’ve lost as Hamilton did. I just know that this is how my mind works. I see time ticking by and do what I can to make the most of it because I can’t make it slow down. This is what keeps me moving forward, especially in times of difficulty.

I’ve never been good at waiting and biding my time. No one I know would ever call me patient. I sit for 18 minutes a day meditating, and that’s about what I can handle. I don’t dwell on things I try that don’t work out—and that goes for baking a pie to landing a job and everything in between. I learn from my experiences and try something else. “Netflix and chill” is never going to be a phrase I embrace (and by that I mean the clean version, friends). I wish I could; I just can’t do it and be happy. And I like to be happy so I embrace my work, my friends, and my curiosity. Those are the things that matter to me.

We’ve just got this one life, and no one is ever going to find a way to manufacture more time. Time is the most equitable resource on Earth. We all get the same 24 hours. Let’s use them in ways that mean something to us. Hamilton certainly did.

creativity

In the pause: Don’t stumble over something behind you

Christa Avampato

“Don’t stumble over something behind you.” ~Seneca

Whenever I’m faced with something disappointing, I feel is deeply and and immediately. I strip out that phase of denial and move right into grief. While grief is a painful, my willingness to feel every ounce of it jumpstarts the healing process. Grief is a lens I use to refocus my energy and get clear about what I need and want. It’s not fun, but it’s necessary. The great benefit of this brutal process is that once it’s done, it’s done. I don’t look back; I let it go and move forward. I have many times in my life that I’m glad I’ll never repeat, and I’m also grateful for all of the learnings that those times held. They have given me empathy, strength, and courage, three of the things I value most.

 

creativity

In the pause: Pursuing an interest in historic preservation

Christa Avampato

In my early 20s while I was working in theater management, I had the great privilege to travel all over the U.S. and Canada with different tours. I was always amazed by the beauty, history, and culture of the restored spaces where we played, and those experiences began my interest in historic preservation. Now whenever I travel to a new city (or even around cities I know well), you can find me looking up and building facades and examining the internal architecture that makes buildings so unique. It’s one of the things I love so much about New York City; the variation in architecture there is endless!

I decided to get a little bit more serious about this interest and enrolled in an online class called The Architectural Imagination. It’s being offered on the edX platform by four professors of architecture at Harvard and it’s free. If architecture and historic preservation is something you’re interested in, too, sign up and we can go through it together!

More info on the class here: https://www.edx.org/course/architectural-imagination-harvardx-gsd1x#!

creativity

In the pause: Reflecting on Hidden Figures

Christa Avampato

I went to see Hidden Figures on Thursday night. I felt uplifted right after seeing it and then all weekend felt sad and frustrated by it. Don’t get me wrong; I love seeing stellar performances from three female women of color portraying real women who are intelligent, courageous, and determined. And let’s face it – the BS that the women portrayed in the film faced still runs rampant in the American workplace and society at-large, especially for women of color.

This is absolutely true in technology, science, and business. I have lost track of the number of times in my career that I was and am expected to keep my head down, my mouth shut, and my smile wide so that I don’t seem threatening to others by questioning assumptions and points-of-view, no matter how respectful and professional my comments are. And here’s the worst part: if I were to tally the worst bullying I’ve received in the workplace, it’s come from an equal number of women and men. It’s unfortunate, and it’s my truth. Women still fight for equal pay, respect, and promotions, and far too often we’re fighting one another.

So this is what I’m going to do about it: I’m going to work on making the workplace, wherever I work, a kinder, more collaborative, diverse, accepting place. There are too many hidden figures in the world today, and I intend to spend my time bringing them into the light and celebrating them.

 

 

creativity

Wonder: How the war in Syria began

Christa Avampato

I’ve been trying to understand what’s happening in Syria and why it began. If you’re curious about this, too, here is the story in a very brief nutshell; it’s a sad, twisted, and cautionary tale of graffiti by children, an ego-maniacal President, and the danger of silently normalizing hideous behavior.

5 years ago Syrian civilians decided to peacefully protest after 15 schoolchildren were arrested – and reportedly tortured – for writing anti-government graffiti on a wall. Government forces opened fired on the protesters killing 4 people. Then they open fired on the mourners at the funerals of those 4 people the following day killing 1 more person.

The people then rose up to meet violence with violence. About 3 years later an organization calling itself IS for Islamic State got involved. Taking advantage of the chaos and desperation, IS escalated the matter even further by retaliating against anyone who didn’t hold IS’s extreme religious views. Then Russia uses its muscle to support the Syrian government, the US and UK make some attempts to support the rebels, some countries slowly crack open the door to welcome Syrian refugees, and the vast majority of the rest of the world sits on its hands, waits, and watches as hundreds of thousands of innocent people are murdered without cause or reason.

Here we are 5 years later and some estimates state that roughly 500,000 people have been killed. All because Syria’s government felt threatened by the graffiti of children and the calls of its people for greater freedom of expression and democracy. It defies reason and any semblance of sanity. This is the damage that one man can cause. This is what the ego, when left unchecked, can do to an entire nation of people. Let that sink in.

creativity

Wonder: Why I decided to become a charter member of the National Museum of African American History and Culture

Christa Avampato

“Why would you do that? You’re not black.” This is what someone said to me when I told them I made a donation to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Thanks to Lonnie Bunch, the founding director of the museum, I had an answer. I made a donation because the history that it commemorates and celebrates is America’s story.In history, we are all united, and that’s how I’d like us to be in the world, too. If you make a donation of any size today, Hyundai will match your donation dollar for dollar up to $500,000 as part of the museum’s campaign called Giving Day.

The museum’s stories can teach something to everyone who takes the time to listen to them. Some of the lessons are horrible and painful, and some of them are joyful and inspiring. That’s life—it’s beautiful and terrible in equal amounts. I am humbled by what the staff members of the museum, and so many others who came before them, have done to assemble this treasure of a museum in the city that I now proudly call home. I can’t wait to see it and I’m so glad to be able to support its message of hope. It’s a message we all need. #GiveNMAAHC

creativity

Wonder: Language creates community – a lesson from Ann Richards

Christa Avampato

“Language should bind us, not divide us.” ~Ann Richards

I know Ann Richards for her ballsy and hilarious quote, “I’ve been tested by fire and the fire lost.” I want that on a t-shirt. My friend, Sara, posted something that reminded me it’s high time I read Ann’s autobiography. I loved the play based on her life, ANN, written by and starring Holland Taylor. Ann was one of those lights in history that make it possible for so many of us to carve our own paths today, traditional or otherwise.

As a writer, her quote about language is one from her autobiography that is especially powerful for me. In a world of acronyms and exclusivity, I much prefer Ann’s way of thinking. Too often language is used to divide us—by gender, by race, by religion, by education level, by industry, by socioeconomic status. In her book, Ann said that she prided herself on being a straight shooter, someone who didn’t mince words, sugarcoat, or tip toe around sensitive issues. Keep it simple. Keep it honest. Keep it authentic.

Now working in an industry that is full of acronyms and complicated language, I’m going to keep this quote about language close at hand. In my writing, I want to illuminate not complicate, to clearly communicate rather than separate. And I know from Ann Richards that this is possible.