Jodi Dareal Dream Warriors Interview

Written by Jessica Coromina

Hey guys thanks for joining me on this fall/winter day. As you already know each and every Wednesday we have this segment called Dream Warriors. We are going to change our drift now and now start to focus on happier times within our season. I have an artist in many ways, shapes of forms.  Beautiful woman inside and out and she uses the beauty of art to express herself. She’s a local artist that you may know, Staten Island’s own Jodi Dareal.

Thank you for coming and what can you say your Dream in the whole wide world?
Jodi: I love to travel. My dream is to see the world and have my art in every gallery or wall. On one side, I’m already living my dreams. I do what I love for a living. On the other side, I want to share it with the world.

Jess: I love that, sounds amazing. I’ve always a liking for art.

What is a DreamWarrior?

Jodi: A Dream Warrior is a person who fights for all dreamers. It’s a person that can see the talent in others and encourage them to pursue their passion. It’s a person that gets knocked down 10 times and gets up 11. It’s a person that hears the words no or not good enough and keeps pushing away. There are no locked doors.

Jess: Wow that’s very powerful and so true. The object of a dreamer should not only for your success but want to bring others to the top as well.

What are things you’d like to partake in ?

Jodi: I like community projects, as well as working with other talented artists. I also loving coaching. I teach swim classes all over Staten Island and currently coach for Trident, a local swim team. So when I’m not working, I’m probably eating or sleeping. Being and Entrepreneur is a 24/7 job. But I wake up loving everyday.

Art by Jodi Dareal

Can you mention a time where there was a turning point in your life?

Jodi: I used go hard for the rap game. I’d like to say that I no longer rap. But that wouldn’t be true. Music is in my veins. But it took the end of a 12 year friendship to make me change course. The pain I left when I lost my best friend made me not want to do music anymore. It was a hard decision to make. Something I still struggle with today. I stop going to events as much. I pretty much lost all faith in people and music wasn’t the same. Art helped me break out of my dark times. It helped me regain my focus. But not a day goes by when I don’t think about the music family I lost and deep it wounded me but I had to keep pushing. I had to prove that I didn’t need them. I had to show myself I was worth it.

Jess: I’m sorry to hear that unforeseen circumstances. We all have our dark times and sometimes spiral downward. Maybe a really long time or maybe just for the moment. Either way it’s very brave and honorable to realize when you do and admit it; also working from that experience as a strength.

Do you feel you are a strong individual?

Jodi: Yes. Would definitely consider myself a strong individual. Growing up, I was always trying to be one of the guys. The tomboy. And as I got older, it seemed like men were always trying to put me in a category. Being a woman in a male dominated world is difficult. People will always try to label you or assume you’re something you’re not when they don’t understand you. And regardless of what life has thrown at me, I’ve always had to grab life by the balls attitude. Excuse my French ...

Jess: Well, I get your French. I can relate to the woman in a man’s world for sure. Always have to make a name or an impression 10x harder than most males do.

What can someone get from experiencing what you did, what can you tell them?

Keep your head up. You’re gonna lose a lot of friends chasing your dreams. But the ones who really care will push you to do better. The ones who truly care you’ll know because they’ll be right by your side helping you every step of the way.

Jess: Girl you couldn’t had said it any better. It’s getting lonelier as you progress and increase in your levels.

Any lessons you feel like you learned?

Jodi: That experience made me a lot more closed off. It took me to a dark place. Cried for months over it. It made me trust less. These days I rarely join group projects I’m always worried they are going to stab me in the back. Dark, I know. It sucks, but it’s good in a way. In business, it’s hard to know whose right and whose wrong. However, the knowledge I gained from the experience has changed me for the better. I used to worry about leaving people behind. But when I realized they didn’t care if I got left behind, I decided being selfish in this situation was ok. It’s ok to want better for yourself even if the people around you disagree. It’s ok to put your needs in front of others any once in a while. 

Jess: I agree completely, we woman are emotional creatures and we care too much at times, naturally. When you are genuine and have a big heart, you just want to be there for people. When others aren’t consistently taking and not contributing, kind of have to cut it loose.

Jess: Well this was a great interview, an eye opener for most. I want to thank you for your time. 

Jodi :Thank you for having me.

Jess: Guys keep checking us out, every Wednesday, same place same time. Have an awesome and amazing rest of the week. Remember always invest in yourself, either in your knowledge, health or wealth. Adioooooss.