We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Darina DeBenedictis. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Darina below.
Darina , so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
It is human nature to wonder, and the question of ‘why?’ shapes our brains starting from such a young age. ‘Why?’ offers our lives significance and we quickly begin on our quest to find answers. Arguably, the most important ‘why?’ that we face as humans is figuring our why we are here on this earth: what is the purpose of us being here. Our purpose is meant to act as our life path and following this path is supposed to lead us to our greatest happiness. However, I believe that we are putting way too much pressure on our lives when we think of PURPOSE as something that we need to put EFFORT into finding.
Don’t get me wrong, I do believe that purpose can be uncovered or found, just not in the ways that we think. It’s more like finding lost pennies on the ground versus following a treasure map on the way to find gold. There is too much at stake when we treat our lives like a hunt for gold instead of just finding lucky pennies along the path of our life. I’m not saying we shouldn’t put effort into finding answers to these big questions. I just think as a society, we are putting too much effort in the wrong places.
In my life currently, I feel like I am living a purposeful life. Maybe I found this version of my life or maybe it found me, but all I know is the finding didn’t come through searching. The finding came when I put less emphasis on the path ahead and more emphasis on my where my feet were in each moment. Only then was I able to see all the pennies I was stepping on.
The purpose of this season of my life is to be a teacher, an artist, and a scientist. I know this is my purpose right now, because being in these roles is when I feel the most lit up. I make my own jewelry, I teach jewelry making workshops for adults, I create/teach STEAM based curriculum to children of all ages, and I fill my life with loads of creativity and curiosity. I had no clue I’d be doing any of this work years ago, but somehow, my map led me here. I’m excited to see where else it will lead me.
In my opinion, we are not meant to just have one purpose in life. I think as long as we are doing everything that we do on purpose (intentionality) and that we are understanding the purpose that things have in our lives (reflection), then we are living a life of purpose. I advise you to notice the following things. What excites you? What do you love doing? What motivates you? What are you the most proud of? When are you the happiest? Do you feel like you are living in your purpose? Do you feel like you are searching for your purpose? Does that feel like a hamster wheel? Are you ready to stop searching for gold and start looking for pennies under your feet? So do it! There is something you can do right now in this moment that is purposeful. Give yourself more free time and do more things on purpose and soon, you’ll realize, you’ve paved your own path uncovering your purpose.
While it is true that pennies obviously don’t have much value, there is something special about finding a penny that is unexpectedly and directly on your path. I think our purpose is exactly like a penny on our path; and it feels like gold when we find it.
Focus more on living ‘on purpose’ rather than ‘in purpose.’
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My name is Darina DeBenedictis and I am an artist, a teacher, a lover of the ocean, a ultra hobbyist, a scientist, a dreamer, and so much more.
I dabble in a lot of various art forms, but professionally speaking, I own a small business called Adorned Jewelry. Through Adorned, I design and create my own polymer clay and beaded earrings. Additionally, I teach jewelry making workshops to adults/children and I also host pop-up shops or participate in markets around town to sell my jewelry. I have created jewelry alongside groups celebrating birthdays/bachelorette parties or just having a fun girls night and it is so fun for me to be able to bring a bit of creativity to all sorts of groups. I love getting to witness other people’s creative process, especially with a craft so familiar to me, but one that others probably haven’t tried before.
In addition to Adorned Jewelry, I also own Spark Learning, which is a STEAM based education program. Through Spark, I teach arts integrated science lessons to preschoolers and lower elementary school children. In some schools, I collaborate with an amazing organization, called Engaging Creative Minds (ECM – see link below), which allows me to teach core curriculum standards through art and fun engaging activities. I also teach fun enrichment after school programs at both Porter Gaud School/Ashley Hall School in Charleston, SC and I run camps all summer at Porter Gaud’s Camp Cyclone (see link below). Teaching science and art over the past handful of years has been so fulfilling. My main focus when teaching is getting the children curious and trusting/valuing their own ideas. Thinking like an artist and a scientist helps the students succeed in way more areas than just their art and science classes. I love the combination of the two and love to see the little sparks that go off in children’s minds when they are able to answer their own questions through experimentation or exploration or through the process of creativity.
ECM: https://engagingcreativeminds.org/
Camp Cyclone: https://www.portergaud.edu/summercamps
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I think my first piece of advice for those who are just starting out is to start before you feel ready, start saying yes before you feel completely prepared. That is what I did when I started Adorned Jewelry and Spark Learning and let me tell you, I would’ve started a LOT later if I waited until I felt ready.
My second piece of advice is to get the largest, most supportive team of people behind you. With Adorned, my family and friends were the ones who encouraged me and pushed me and helped me think of new creative ideas and spread the word about my new business.
With my STEAM curriculum, others trusted me to teach enrichment programs before I even knew I wanted to or that I could. Again, I didn’t feel like I was the right amount of prepared or experienced to teach at the time, but clearly, that was a lie.
With both Adorned and Spark, I didn’t have any huge thought out business plans when I started them. Both grew out of just starting from a very very small seed of passion that kept growing. I was able to make decisions as things came up and grew so much through my mistakes or lessons learned. Having a great team of people behind you makes starting before you are ready feel a lot less intimidating. Find some people that really inspire you and motivate you and push you to grow those tiny seeds of passion. Agree to get out of your comfort zone more often, even if you have to fake it ‘till you make it. We’re all just kinda faking it anyways, aren’t we?!
So start now by saying “yes” to something that scares you and I promise you won’t regret it. I have grown to love living a life of “yes.”
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
Two books that have resonated so much with me in the past couple years are “The Intellectual Lives of Children,” by Susan Engel, as well as “The Importance of Being Little,” by Erika Christakis. Both books give such great insight on the way children think, learn, and grow. The books discuss ways to get children to think creatively and originally. Reading these books sent me down a rabbit hole of thinking about the concept of ‘wonder.’ I like to instill wonder and create opportunities for inquiry both in the classrooms I teach in, as well as the adult workshop spaces I teach in. Through my experience I have realized that at the root, there is no difference between teaching children versus adults. Adults need chances to wonder just as much a children do. I hope more adults can put themselves in more spaces where they are able to get curious and creative. I hope to offer more opportunities that do just that.
Contact Info:
- Website: Adorned.shop
- Instagram: Adorned.goods
- Facebook: Adorned.business
