Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Rebecca Benison of NYC

Rebecca Benison shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Good morning Rebecca, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
Lately, I’ve been doing more crafting, and I’ve absolutely lost track of time while doing these projects. I make jewelry out of resin, and it had been over two years since I made anything new. I’d forgotten how much goes into creating tiny scenes and gathering all the supplies, and just the process of building each piece, layer by layer.

To be honest, I haven’t liked most of the pieces I’ve made recently — I’d gotten out of practice, and some of my materials were old and hard to work with. But it is amazing to watch the progress from those first pieces to the later ones where I found my groove again. And I love seeing the vision becoming something tangible.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Yes, my name is Rebecca Benison, and I’m a content marketing professional and creative writer. I definitely consider myself a creative individual, and I love that I’ve been able to build a career around that passion.

I think my flexibility makes me unique within the writing field. I’ve supported industries ranging from manufacturing to finance professionally, and outside of “work,” my writing spans genres including thrillers, sci-fi, and horror. Once I have an idea or a goal, I do my research to see how best to approach the subject. There’s a lot of learning-as-you-go, but that’s what makes it fun.

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
It’s funny, looking back at my elementary school journals, I wanted to be so many things. I used to sketch out entire outfits with accessories and loved the idea of being a fashion designer. I experimented with sewing quite a bit, but was never very good at that part.

I also loved science, and still do. I used to think I’d become a geneticist, mainly so that I could combine the DNA from different animals to make real Pokemon… I still think that’s possible, but with adult ethics I no longer think that would be a responsible undertaking.

I think that each of us has so many things that we could be good at and enjoy if we had the opportunity to pursue different paths. I was fortunate to have many of those opportunities in school, and spent a few semesters doing some genetics work in a lab. That experience taught me that I don’t actually like lab work.

If you were to ask any of my friends from childhood what I would be when I grew up, most would probably say artist. I still consider myself an artist, but my medium is predominantly the written word now. I do sneak in visual art whenever I can, though.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
I wouldn’t call it giving up, but there were times I took a break during my publishing journey. I’m actually on a break right now from my current works-in-progress.

With Harvest Cruise, I’d written and edited the manuscript and eventually started querying agents. My first batch of queries received a pretty fast response — I’d gotten one rejection in the first hour, and a partial request from another agent the next day. That was actually a great response to get so early on. Over time, I got some more requests here and there, but mostly it was radio silence and later rejections. I’d take time off from querying here and there to instead focus on edits and working on my next project.

I was fortunate to receive feedback from a few agents and publishers. I took that feedback and reworked the beginning of Harvest Cruise, removing the first chapter entirely. Shortly after making that change, Chicken House Press requested my full manuscript, and later made the offer to publish.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. How do you differentiate between fads and real foundational shifts?
The reason behind the change is everything. Buying the latest water bottle because it has a different design is a fad. Buying a water bottle to cut down on plastic waste is a foundational shift.

The water bottle was the first thing that came to mind, but it’s funny because in my own life I know that our tap water contains carcinogens, so I’m buying bottled water until I can afford a reverse osmosis filter for the house. But I appreciate the role of reusable bottles in cutting down on environmental waste and microplastics.

For the most part, though, foundational shifts aren’t focused on a product, but a lifestyle change. So, the bottle itself isn’t the shift; cutting down on waste in all areas of your life is.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I don’t think anyone is born to do any one thing, but I’m doing something that I enjoy and am blessed to say that it earns my living, too. If I had followed the advice of others, I would likely be a microbiologist today. Sometimes I do think about the value and impact I could be making in that field, and I love watching documentaries featuring passionate researchers and thinking, “that could have been me!” But the difference is they always seem happy in their work, and when I was pursuing that path, I didn’t feel that joy.

I love being a writer, and getting into that flow where a creative spark hits and you’re writing as fast as you can because you need to get all these ideas out before they escape or something else pulls your attention away. I also love drawing and painting and seeing how things change as you add new elements.

I think I could be happy doing so many different things, but I’m proud of what I’m doing now.

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