Pineapples
One night as I was having a conversation with my great aunt about I.D's website, she kept pressing me on this question: " What's with the pineapples?" The only justification I had was: "I just love pineapples." You would think that would be enough but for some reason she still didn't get why pineapples were the background for this page (that you are currently looking at). I didn't get why she was so aggressive and stuck on the pineapples and I began to get frustrated rather quickly. Hopefully I didn't show it on my face; sometimes I show my frustration and annoyance on my face (which is a habit I picked up from my mom).
Ironically enough the thing that brought out frustration in me is what I was still thinking of days later: Why pineapples? Could it just be that I'm Puerto Rican and we love us some pineapples. But the question was deeper than that. God has a way of speaking to us in so many different ways, and when we have our listening skills sharpened we can hear him. So here I am days later (and now listening to Him); why pineapples? Well God's answer was simple, "You're like a pineapple." I laughed to myself because it's so like God to answer us with a metaphor.
Now, I've been called a lot of things like: thug, pit-bull, gangster, shorty but never a pineapple. I guess you can say maybe I was a bit defensive with God, like what you trying to say, I'm prickly and rough. But that's not at all what He meant. Now although I am rough on the outside (God knows that) it was deeper than that. Growing up in the hood (Southside Williamsburg, Brooklyn) has contributed to my roughness along with being raised by my strong and confident mom and Army Veteran dad. At age 4 my mom had to teach me things like, don't smile at men, don't ever turn around if you hear a car honk, don't talk to strangers, be aware of your surroundings, you know normal stuff.
On my block lived drunks, cheating men/women, teen parents, ex convicts, single moms, dead beat dads, drug addicts, church goers, high school dropouts, and my family, the Feliciers. I wanted to do better than just be some chick from the hood, I wanted to make it outside of my block and take my family with me. Being a young latina living in Brooklyn in the 90's was the reason behind this prickly and rough outside, along with the struggles happening within my household.
My childhood consisted of two loving parents, two older brothers,being born into poverty, playing in the park, going to church, school, basketball, going to court for my rebellious eldest brother, my parents barely making ends meet, my mom having to quit her job, visiting my eldest brother in different group homes he was placed in, my dad being shipped out to war and of course dancing. Dance . . . what a beautiful thing God has given us to enjoy but for me he blessed me with a talent to do it. Dance became who I was but it also became my secret place. Dance became my way of escaping my environment into my hideaway; God's presence.
My outside environment, circumstances and hurts built my outside roughness, but dance built my inside brightness. So this pineapple analogy became more and more clear but not entirely. So like any other person I googled what a pineapple means and that's when I let out a good laugh. According to google a pineapple represents the intangible assets we appreciate in a home like warmth, welcoming, friendship and hospitality. I mean c'mon: does a pineapple scream welcome and friendship to you? Maybe so but definitely not to me.
We as human beings crave to be welcomed and have friendship and there is where I believe God is calling me to. ID House is God ordained and I believe its a place of warmth, welcoming, friendship and hospitality. Teens are often given a bad name and can be like pineapples; prickly, you know rub you the wrong way. They need what we all need, friendship and to feel welcomed by others. ID House is the place for that and I'm determined to follow God's plan for my life in which He tells me is a plan to prosper me not to harm me, a plan of hope and a good future (Jeremiah 29:11 NLT). I truly believe God has a plan for us all including teenagers, they just need some support and encouragement to make it wherever they want to go in life.
I love teens, that's something that God has put in my heart; the pricklier the better because inside all of them is sweet victory. In whatever way it is I can help a teen I want to do it. For me, God used dance to keep me out of trouble and focused on my future. I know that God can use our talents and gifts that he has given us to do better and be better. For me it was dance but for a teen it can be math, singing, fixing cars, web designer, politics, writing, the possibilities are endless.
Today I'm a graduate of bible college (Elim Bible Institute) and I am pursuing a master's degree in social work at York College. My hopes are to become a Federal Probation Officer in the juvenile detention system. I want our teens off the streets and definitely out of jail. I want them to prosper and I am determined to help be apart of the solution instead of complaining about the problem. I'm not where I want to be yet but I'm surly not where I was and I'm still going. I know God will not fail me and I'm going to make it where He is taking me to. This pineapple is not out the game, not until my Savior has told me well done my good and faithful servant.
So next time you see a pineapple I hope that you think of the teens of your community and remember that there is greatness in them despite what you see on the outside.
With love,
Starr Felicier, Founder and CEO