Hispanic Heritage Month 2020

By: Gabriela Yareliz It feels like autumn. It’s like 2020 said it was ready and someone flipped the switch. The temperatures have dropped to crisp cool lows. If only someone could flip a switch and make the neighbor above me shut up. It’s like he thinks he is competing in American Idol every minute ofContinue reading “Hispanic Heritage Month 2020”

Rituals

I am up at 4:34 am, as we wait for the downpours Hurricane Laura is supposed to bring to NYC. There is an occasional drip-drip outside, but nothing else. I have been thinking a lot about rituals, lately. Sometimes, rituals get a bad rap. They are considered to just be routine or things on aContinue reading “Rituals”

The Strength for Some Madness

By: Gabriela Yareliz My boyfriend is very gifted and artistic— it really shines when it comes to food. He makes things that are so delicious but also knows how to present them on a plate. He can make sparkling water next-level, you know what I mean? He found this show on Netflix called Chef’s TableContinue reading “The Strength for Some Madness”

A Lesson on Father’s Day

By: Gabriela Yareliz Father’s Day and Mother’s Day are often avoided by people who have experienced childhood trauma. Some people have experienced pain caused by one or both parents, so they distance themselves from the holiday and deeper yet, from the person it celebrates. Father’s Day isn’t a holiday I like to embrace. Sometimes, itContinue reading “A Lesson on Father’s Day”

An Uncomfortable Topic

By: Gabriela Yareliz A scene keeps playing over and over again, in my head. Summer of 2009, I visited France and did a stage with the French government. We were living in a small French mariner village. I gathered with young people from around the world (whom I love— friends for life), and what weContinue reading “An Uncomfortable Topic”

Stillness and Light

By: Gabriela Yareliz I just saw a little video on Mimi Ikonn’s Instagram stories of how she was walking in London and a hail/rain storm came out of nowhere. She and a friend took shelter under the ledge of a building. They were laughing and confused, getting soaked. It reminded me of that summer nightContinue reading “Stillness and Light”

Ravi Zacharias

By: Gabriela Yareliz This week, we mourned a fierce man of faith, and a personal hero of mine, Ravi Zacharias. He is someone I have quoted extensively and studied with extensively. A man who was determined to reveal faith to the rational mind. A man determined to make us all seekers of truth, in aContinue reading “Ravi Zacharias”

Emotional Undercurrent

By: Gabriela Yareliz This morning, I was speaking to friends of mine, in my home church in Florida. We send a text on Saturday mornings, when we pray for each other and our families. He and his wife are two of the most amazing people I know, who live their lives in full ministry— God’sContinue reading “Emotional Undercurrent”

Studio Update 30

By: Gabriela Yareliz Hello my friends— Studio Update 30– wow. Perfect for someone who this week got a little closer to 30. Me. It has been a while. I know. It has been an exhausting set of weeks, where I have worked long hours on weekdays and find myself with no energy to think orContinue reading “Studio Update 30”

Studio Update 29

By: Gabriela Yareliz Guys, somehow, I survived the day without caffeine. Between the fighting upstairs, washing and blow drying my hair and finishing up Aisha (an entire Bollywood movie)— I went to bed at 2am. Yup. That movie started when I got in the shower and ended when my hair was fully dry. That justContinue reading “Studio Update 29”