How MY mother broke the Curse of the Bambino

It’s game 3 in the 2004 American League Championship Series, Boston Red Sox Vs. The New York Yankees. The Sox are down 8 to 17, and no hope of winning. My family is feeling down and can barely watch the pitiful game, we are angry at the team and we are dreading to hear all the boasting from the Yankee fans the next day.  My mother, who is not a baseball fan by any means, is also watching the game with us when she notices that the whole team puts their hat backwards, this was a superstitious ritual the team did during the game. She asks us why the players did this. My father then goes on to explain that the team hadn’t won a world series in 86 years, since 1918, even though they were the most successful baseball franchise in the early years. He also explained that they stopped winning when Babe Ruth, who was also called The Bambino, was traded to the New York Yankees in 1920. Since then they claimed they were cursed by the trade and called it The Curse of the Bambino.

Just the previous year, 2003, the Red Sox found themselves in a similar situation.  They once more played the Yankees in the American League Championship Series. Boston held a 5-2 lead in Game 7 on the 8th inning, just 5 outs from winning the game, when the Yankees tie the game and eventually score the tie breaking home run in the 11^th Inning and the Red Sox didn’t proceed to the World Series.

My mother saw the desperate and sad faces of the players and thought “If only one player or one of their family members believed in Jesus and his power, the "curse" would be broken and they would win!” This thought lay heavy on her heart as we saw the Red Sox lose game 3. The Yankees were just one game away from entering the World Series.

On Sunday, the next day, while my family is getting ready to attend our 5:00pm service the Red Sox are also getting ready to play game 4 at 8:00pm and all bets are on the Yankees sweeping the series, especially after winning 19 to 8 the previous day!  My mother hasn't told a soul about her thought the previous night. As people arrive to church she sees an eerie familiar face in the crowed. A small boy, about 6 years old, is sitting in the front seat with his mother, which we will call Anna, and his younger brother. When my mother gets introduced to Anna, she tells her that the young boy’s father plays for the Red Sox, and was a very key player. This was obvious since the boy was his spitting image. My mothers heart leaped of shock and excitement! Here it was! The connection God had revealed to her during the game!

After the service, around 7:30pm, my mother pulled the Anna to the side and tells her about the thought God had placed on her heart. When Anna heard she believed in Gods power and took my mother's word as fruition and that night they prayed that God would listen to their prayers and that this would be a time of miracles and for God to glorify himself. That night the Red Sox won their first game in the series! The Red Sox tied the game in the bottom of the 9^th,  then Ortiz scored a home-run with a player on base in the bottom of the 12^th and they won 6 to 4.

Every game after that, the Red Sox had amazing comebacks. Scoring right on time and winning the game. Each win was celebrated by the father of the boy jumping up and down out of the dugout pointing to heaven! He knew we were praying, we were fasting and God was giving them the victory! No other team in the history of the league had ever, EVER come back from a 0-3 trail to win the series and the championship. That year the Red Sox went on to sweep the World Series and finally break the Curse of the Bambino!

There are theories of how the curse was broken. Some say it had to do with Curt Schillings bloody socks when he pitched in game 6 of the series and threw it away in the Yankee stadium. Others say it had to do with a foul ball that hit a young boy, who lived in the farm that was owned by the Bambino, in the face and knocking out his two front teeth that broke the curse. However, all I know is that the Red Sox were trailing 0-3 games and were one game away from being disqualified when my mom and Anna started praying. If you thought that the 2004  Boston Red Sox World Series win was a miracle, well...you were right. 

The Letters that Woke Me Up

About a year ago I got a very interesting letter at my job's mailbox. It had my name and position and no return address. I found it peculiar and went on to read it. Inside I found a letter from a fan...yes a fan. First fan that I know of. In the letter they let me know that they enjoyed my point of view and prospective, they had read my blog and had noticed I stopped writing and encouraged me start again. They assured me that they weren't a stoker but just a fan. I was initially freaked out, they wanted to keep it anonymous and assured me that they had met me about twice before and had found all my information on the oh so reveling Facebook. So I cleaned my profile of any reveling information such as the place I worked and hometown, sharpened my security settings and got even pickier about the people I accepted as "friends". I also tried to narrow down who this person could be to very little results.

After the initial freak out I read the letter again and took it for its face value: a fan letter. Before the letter, I had contemplated writing again but just didn't have enough motivation. I had even started to write a couple of post but never got around finishing them and figured no one was missing them either. But I was wrong, I had at least one person who was reading, and I decided to finish writing a post I had started writing about a year before. I posted the article and a comment on facebook and got a second letter thanking me for the post and assuring me that they were just a fan and that that was going to be their last letter to me.

Never in a million years would I have imagined to get such a letter. In my world I was just writing to write and expressing myself to...well...myself. I had a thought and felt like unleashing it. I am very self-conscientious about my technical writing skills. I make grammar mistakes often and write one word when I really mean another one. I can read something five times and it sound perfectly fine to me until I give it to someone to read it and they find a whole can of worms of mistakes. Its because of these reasons I don't post as often. My fear of the grammar police stops me from posting my thoughts. I even got a comment on one of my post saying that I had grammar mistake in my piece about writing lol how ironic.

I had, in part, forgotten about the letters when, while organizing my nightstand the other day, I found them. I read them and again I felt that same encouragement to share my ideas and thoughts, even if I get flagged or ticketed by grammar police. The first blog I posted after the letter was about making our words and thoughts have more value and practicing what I call silent wisdom. I am very particular about sharing my opinion, I always say my thoughts are mine and not everybody should have the privilege of knowing them. I don't say this because I think my thoughts are the best and have a high price to them or anything along those lines, I say it because I enjoy my privacy and we, as a culture, have indulged in the act of over sharing for way too long. Either way this was a thought that really let me know that sharing SOME of my ideas and thoughts could be for the betterment of the greater good.

The "fan" also told me that it was an infrequent church goer however the letter expressed to me characteristic of someone from the bible, Barnabas. Never heard of him, don't sweat it, few notice him. Barnabas is only mentioned a few times in the New Testament but he is believed to have been the first to welcome Paul after his conversion as well as mentoring him for 10 years.  He is known as the Son of Encouragement for giving words and support to members of the early church such as Paul and Mark. Although little is known of him, we can see his character and teachings through Paul.

Few people knew of your letters but many people read my blog. I want to thank you for waking me up and adding value to my thoughts by writing that letter to me. I urge you to keep encouraging people around you by seeing their potential and asking them to share it with the word. And to the rest of my readers out there I ask that you do the same to others, you never know what the world might be missing.


Before I end I wish to share this video with you all in hopes that you would do the same as she does

BY ASSOCIATION

I am the third of four children in my house, I am also the last girl before the only boy, and therefor I am the baby. I am one of those people who willingly admits she has a middle child complex. Now in my case I didn't feel neglected by my family just felt, at times, like the odd one out. A few years ago all four of us joked about what color sheep we were in the house, Candy the rebel "black sheep", Juanlly the grey one, Wilmy the white good one and then there was me...I...well...I was the neon green sheep, that was our conclusion at least. Growing up I was always the quiet one, stayed in the back and tried not to make too much noise. It also didn't help that all my siblings are musically incline in one way or another, except me...well actually I play a mean tambourine ;).

Since I was the shyest from the 4 I was know by association: meaning I was known as so and so's sister or so and so's friend or daughter and never by just plain Yicaury. Some people wouldn't even learn my name, just my association. At first it made sense in my head, I was shy and people knew my other siblings or friend more than me, and I went along with it. As I grew older this started to bother me and my middle child complex started manifesting itself  and I soon grew to despise association. Now let me make this straight, I understand if we just met and I get introduce as so and so's blank but if we keep getting together and keep relating to each other and you still call me so and so's blank thats when my eye begins to twitch. I feel as if knowing who I am has no meaning or it isn't even important to you. It also feels like I am some sort of bridge to get closer to them and therefor you have no interest in getting to know me -_-* I went through this stage of association for a long time and it just felt like I had no identity or as if the only good thing about me was that I was so and so's blank.

So people with a middle child complex express it in many different ways: some act out to get attention, others disappear and just go with the flow,  I express it by being creative. Now I want you to understand that this was not something I decided one day, I didn't sit down and put my thinking cap on and decided "I'M GOING TO BE CREATIVE!". No, no, no, nooooo, it just sorta happened. My need to NOT be one in the crowd produced creativity in me. Its also known that younger siblings tend to me more creative than the older ones. My desire to be known as Yicaury created an infinite pool of ideas and behaviors that have become part of me. This has become so natural to me and has defined how I am NOW perceived, as an individual and an original. The interesting thing is that I have been called these things by complete strangers that I have met once or twice, walking in the streets, in conferences, in the mall and just in everyday situations. 

I wrote this post for a couple of reasons but one being a voice for the shy unspoken people known solely by association. Take time to know this hidden treasures and encourage them to find and built on their own identity. Its frustrating to be in the shadows knowing you have your own voice but nobody wants to listen to it. 

 I think the name of my blog has a lot to show for how far I've come from my association days. Yiry(G-ree) adj: is a call to become an adjective, be soooo you that people will start  describing and seeing things and ASSOCIATING it with who you are. Become a total original in your own way, stop breaking copyright laws and be simply you, one day the world will eventually catch up :) I fight against the association game when I see it done to others in hopes that they too can find their identity and become an adjective.

A Place to Belong: Creating Church Community for Our Youth

I always thought that my stability came from growing up in a Christian home and felt that my life style was a reflection of the good morals and Christian values my parents instilled in me. Shockingly, while reading The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, I came across a study conducted by Judith Harris which said “peer influence and community influence are more important than family influence in determining how children turn out…children are powerfully shaped by their external environments…the streets we walk down, the people we encounter- play a huge role in shaping who we are and how we act.”(pg.167-168). After analyzing how different my life is compared to my childhood friends I had no choice but to agree. When mentoring the next generation we need to create a community within the church that molds their outlook and character.


As humans, we all long to fulfill the vital need to belong to a community. Jesus himself, shortly after his baptism started his public ministry by fostering a community with his twelve disciples. These were his confidants, the ones he trusted to continue his work of spreading the gospel. We need to create that same experience for our youth.


I grew up in an inner city where crime was high and gangs were raging all over the streets. By fifth grade, kids were already talking about sex, and girls were fighting to prove that they were, in fact, still virgins. Gangs and drugs infiltrated even the small charter school I attended. Even in an environment like the one I describe, I managed to surround myself with a great group of level-headed friends with whom I associate during school hours. Sadly, even within this group bad decisions were made.


If the results of the study done by Harris stand true, why didn’t I go down the wrong path even though I grew up in the same community as my friends? Simple: I did not find community in my neighborhood, I found it in my church. Looking back, I realized that my participation in several ministries throughout my adolescence contributed significantly to how I would turn out and I also had a mentor encourage me to participate in various afterschool programs. Through the years, strong bonds were built with other Christian youth with whom I was able to spend most of my weekends attending various youth activities within the city, district and region. My community was not made up of my friends from school. My community was church. My desire to belong was met by my Christian peers. We all had the same goal: God. We kept each other accountable.


How can we successfully build a youth-friendly community in our churches? It starts with mentoring and building relationships with them in small group settings. I can’t emphasize its importance enough. Trust and comfort are essential to building community and very often a product of time and investment. Make it a point to spend time with them after service and outside of a traditional church setting. Be patient and start slowly. Once trust has been established, it will grow and lead the youth to naturally open up to you. At that point, all that will be left for you to do is simply listen, and that will be sufficient for them.


Create a safe haven for them to express themselves freely. On a weekly or monthly basis, allow time for them to talk voluntarily about the things that are going on in their lives. By creating this safe space, the youth will realize that they are all dealing with similar situations and will begin to create natural bonds with one another.


Encourage your youth to join other ministries within the church and/or to form new ones. They can create ministries revolving around the arts such as a musical group or a drama ministry. Encourage their creativity and their desire to work. Invite them to join the cleaning ministry or the ushers and to build that sense of responsibility and accountability . The more involved they are the more time they will spend with each other and the more their trust and love for each other will grow. This will help them create a Christ centered culture within their peers which will result in positive peer pressure.


It is essential to build community to help our youth feel like they belong, which is such a vital part of youth development. Once you have built that sense of belonging and have captured their attention then it is your duty and privilege to mold a new generation after God’s heart that will continue Jesus’ work on earth.




Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point. New York, NY, Back Bay Books/Little, Brown Company, 2001. Print

Guiding my Steps: How I ended up in the middle of the Indian Ocean

God always has a sneaky way of lining things up. A lot of times I think God laughs at us when we get up set when our plans don't go through. Is hard to understand that God has better and bigger stuff for us and that failed plans are really a segway to something way better. It just takes us trusting God to see it that way.

I entered Gordon as Accounting and Business major and soon realized that I was not made for the business world. My mentality was sooo different than those in my class and I figured something in here is not like the other, something here just doesn't belong...ME! So I made the decision to switch majors and stumbled along a semester in LA and saw that it was under the Communication major and that was that! The main reason I switch to communication was to go to LA.

So I decided I should do it my fall semester of my senior year, since I wanted to spend my last semester at Gordon. When I went to apply I wasn't even allowed to apply...well that sucked! I couldn't believe it! The main reason I became a Communication major was to go to LA and it wasn't like I reached the door and it was locked, it was that I didn't even make it to the door! I was devastated! Now I had heard about a semester in Sri Lanka that summer, and in a split decision, right after hearing I couldn't apply go to LA, I asked if I could sign up for Sri Lanka and to my surprise I could.  The interesting thing was that God had been talking to me about trusting him that whole semester.

I had been receiving one constant message: God was guiding my steps. I had heard that same message everywhere. In chapel sermons, in songs, in conversations with friends, in readings and the freakiest was on a Fortune Cookie on FACEBOOK! EVERYWHERE! One after the other, over and over again. I was very upset that my main plan had been flushed down the toilet but God kept reassuring me that it was going to be all right, that HE had a plan.

Sri Lanka taught me sooo much and it literally changed my life and my view on things I didn't even realized I was struggling with. It changed my view of my role in the church and on my own personal culture. It was a split second decision and one of the best!

The great thing was that I did make it to LA, the time I had chosen was just the wrong one. I can't imagine going a different semester, I wouldn't have met the amazing people I did, or produce the work I did or have any of the life changing experiences I had if I had gone another semester. You see God knew that, and it was my job to simply trust him to guide me steps.

One of my favorite bible story is the one of Joseph, son of Jacob. God had given him a dream and destination, he was to rule over his family, although he was one of the youngest in his house. In order for that to happen he HAD to be sold into slavery. His bosses wife HAD to try to sleep with him. He HAD to go to jail. I'm pretty sure that Joseph had forgotten about that dream God had given him when he was just a child. However God knew what he was doing, he knew that crazy connection and path he was taking Joseph on. If he had never been in jail he would have never met the KINGS cup-bearer. And even though the cup dude forgot about Joseph in jail it wasn't until he was indispensable to the king that he time came! (This story is found in the Book of Genesis). God had given Joseph his dreams for a reason and he hadn't forgotten.

God's timing in ALWAYS on point and it is our job to listen and trust in him because who knows you might end up in the middle of the Indian Ocean like me :)

 

How to "Pull It Off"

"Yicaury only you can pull that off..." I think I hear this almost every time I put on clothes, which is every day lol.  A lot of people don't understand my fashion but they can't say that what I'm wearing doesn't make sense either and they can't explain why. Why my combination make sense on me but they would never be able to wear it.

Fashion is all about your personal interpretation. I always say I don't always match but my clothes always goes. So here are a couple of tips from me to you on how my brain works when putting an outfit together....(This post in going to seem very narcissistic but the reality is that I can only talk about what I know and what I know best is me lol soooo here is goes)

Never limit yourself to a "look". Try something new
I personally hate looking the same everyday. And when I go shopping I never have a certain look in mine either, so my closet is all over the place. I like to mix and match and keep things interesting.  Everyday is a chance to try something new and I express that primarily through my clothes! Don't do the same thing every day, its boring! You never know what amazing things you will discover about yourself and body in new  styles. 

1.2.3.

I love this dress, its easy to wear and very comfortable! Here I have accessorized it with a blazer (1.)for a more dress up look, with a belt and sweater (2.) for a semi casual look and with a shirt and thin belt (3.) for a casual relax look. 

Dress for your body
I have been a curvy woman since I became a teenager, I am blessed with my mommas curves :). But with privileges comes responsibilities lol. Know what looks good on you and what doesn't. Don't try to fit into a smaller OR bigger size, both options are going to make you look bigger than you are. I hate people that feel all proud that they "fit" into their "skinny clothes" and just end up bulking and muffin topping all over the place...not pretty. Look nobody is going to see what size you are wearing, they are going to see how clothes look on you. If you dress with sizes too small you are going to produce chinchos (spanish for rolls) that don't need to be. Also if you dress too baggy the clothes will give you the extra bulk thats just not there. Figure out your correct size and buy clothes that flatters you figure not that mutilates it! Also what you put under your clothes is just as important. Get fitted for your correct bra size, panty-lines are never flattering and nobody wants to know what color your panties are! A little spandex goes a long way as well ;) no shame in wearing it. WITH THAT being said...I don't have a gut, instead I have good posture! Standing up correctly will take off 20 pounds, give you presence when you enter a room and if you have been blessed with plenty of fruit to go around, it will take away that back ache. A little sucking it in will go a long way, it will help you stand up correctly and strengthen your core. So here is how you do it, roll your shoulders back, suck in your stomach and stick your butt out...then relax a bit. 

4.5.

6.

Know the color wheel

I feel when people think of matching they think of the same color. I rarely match by color, I actually match my clothes by the style or look I am going for. I think this is what confuses people the most about my style. Knowing the color wheel and color harmony really helps you extend what you do with clothes. You don't only have to wear two colors at a time. You can wear as many as you wish as long as the look goes together. Example look 8. has four elements and they are all different colors but all elements go well. It is a complete look that is put together by style of clothing and not necessary by color. However knowing that blue and yellow are in the opposite side of the color wheel lets me know that the contrasting colors will look well together, like in look 6. 

7.8.

Do your hair, put on a little eye liner

One one my biggest pet-peeves is seeing an amazing outfit with a horrible hairstyle! NOO NOO NOOOO! Please if you took the time to wrap the gift please make sure you pick the right bow to finish it off! And make sure its the right hairdo as well. No one wants to see an extravagant bow on a brown paper wrapped gift. Now the same thing goes to what you put on your face. Wrap your eyes and your face appropriately. Make-up is not to disguise yourself its to highly your beauty. You can match your makeup to your clothes but even better match it to the style of clothing, just like making outfits, but even better match it to your mood. Try a new technic, youtube it, try a bright lipstick instead of intense eyes. Frame your eyes not just with eyeliner but with a great eyebrows! If you take them out yourself, not saying you don't do a good job, but professionals are called professionals for a reason. Its better to have awful bushy eyebrows for a month or two then to have them for life! Let them grow out and have them PROFESSIONALLY done, then you can keep them up on your own. If you mess them up restart the process, I have done this a couple of times lol. Its worth it.

10.9.

Do your research
There in nothing wrong with following trends, most likely that will be all you'll find in stores. Look at what people are wearing and figure out why you like it. Is it the color or the silhouette it gives? See how to style an outfit with accessories, how to do your make-up to complete and compliment your look, youtube how to videos. We have all these awesome tools available, use them. Believe me it will make a difference. If you see something you like ask the person how they did it and if they can show you. In your spare time (AKA when your bored) try it out in your house just for fun, it will be a trial run ;)

11.

12.

Shop in the old lady section lol

What I mean by this is don't limit yourself to a store or a section in the store. I find great cardigans in the elder sections in Macy's. I also don't let my budget control what stores I go into. You never know what you will find on sale or clearance. Example my hat from look 13 I got at JCrew on sale! $10.00 bucks! The bracelet from the same look I found at the Hallmark store!! Yeap the place where they sell greeting cards. People are surprise to find out that one of my favorite department store is JCPenny! Thats one of my secret places lol. They have great basics like solid pencil skirts and great blouses (look 11 and 12)! Don't underestimate what you might find in stores and in the section you might find it in! Did i mentioned the JCrew hat was in the men section...Also find other sources for clothes like vintage shops and second hand stores. The blazer I use in looks 1 and 4 is from a vintage shop I went into where I found the necklace in looks 4 and 15. The blazer from looks 9, 14 and 15 I got for FREE at secondhand place. The trick about this tip is to have a good and sharp eye. If it catches your eye HEY JUST TRY IT ON! You never know what you can do with it.

13.

Who said a bracelet can't be a headband (look 20)

Just because a store sells it as one thing doesn't mean you can't use it as another. I think this comes with my editors eye but I never see just one use for items. EDIT EDIT EDIT! I once found a great floral maxi dress in the plus size section in Target (use of previous tip lol) I tried wearing it long but for some reason it never worked so I tucked the bottom of the dress into my pants and made the dress a bubble top instead. Eventually I ended up cutting the dress and its one of my favorite summer dresses. I got feather earrings and lost one so I simply added the feather to another pair of earrings, no, they don't match but thats what makes them awesome! Also who said if it broke its no longer good, example the tights on look 7. They are net and it snag and I liked it so I did it on the other side :) Not for nothing but I got way more compliments than I expected especially from complete strangers.

14.15.

Canvases are white for a reason

White is a great starting place for any outfit. Its so simple which means it can go any direction you want. ACCESSORIES! There is nothing better than a blank canvas! You can be simplistic a la outfit 16 or crazy a la outfit 5. Use the current color trends to your advantage like coral a la 17 and mint a la 19. Sometimes keeping it simple is awesome. Another thing about white is that is a great alternative to black. Although white is the opposite of black is does not do the opposite that black does to your body...in short it doesn't make you look fat :). Built on it any direction you want! Now when wearing white please please PLEASE don't put white underwear under it! Its just adding another layer of white which actually makes it pop out more. When wearing white wear skin-tone underwear or skin-tone camisole and spanxs to hide it.

16.

Learn the rules and then BREAK THEM ALL!

What makes an outfit is the surprise element. Yeah you can follow the rules but sticking to them only limits your creativity. Don't care what anybody says, trust your gut, if you like it it's for a reason! I was never considered fashionable growing up and I'm still surprise how all this came about but it took me wearing what I wanted and putting it together although nobody got it, style will catch up to you eventually ;)

17.18.

19.

Last but not least...
CONFIDENCE 
If you don't have it you will never pull it off even if  you took the outfit right out of a fashion magazine. Know who you are, embrace it, and decorate yourself accordingly. 

Because even on the days you miss the mark, a la look 20 lol, people won't notice 

20.

Writing 101

So in college I took a writing class, odviosly I enjoy it. It really helped me appreciate writing so much more. I wrote poems, fiction, non-fiction, monologs and sooooo much more. I even had the oportunity of writing a script and filming it to rave reviews. But the class actually taught me something I don't think even the teacher intended, it healped me understand Gods omnipresense, his knowledge of our life and free will.

One of our assignments was to come up with a character, not a story. So we were asked to give it a gender, a background story, characteristics, habits, physical traits, something that made this person unique. So for example this is Maya, she has a hispanic mother and a white dad, she grew up in a suburban town and was always the only person with hispanic heritage in her class. Her hair is extremely curly and she has caramel skin and green eyes. She spent her summers visiting her mother side of the family and knows spanish. She can be stubborn and hard headed, and is always defending her point of view. She had an older sister who was killed by a car while she was playing in the streets and Maya witness it. Because she saw what a car could do to a person she is scared of driving but wants to become more independent. She loves adventure but the constant reminder of her sisters death makes her be extremely cautious.

Thats my character, she is nothing like me the author but she is her own person. Once we wrote down all the characteristics of this person we have created we place them into a story, into a scenario or a conflict. Base on the characteristics I have given her I, the author, know how she is going to act. I am not writing how I would do in this situation but how Maya would act. I am not making the decisions for her BUT since I know her so well I know what she is going to do. And thats when it hit me.

God is the author of our story. He knows who we are deep down to the core and because of this he knows what our daily decisions will be. He knows what would be best for Maya but its up to Maya to make that decisions. Gods knowledge of us makes him omnipresent but his willingness to let us be the characters we are shows us his ability to allow us to have freewill. And people freewill is what allows us to love :)