Katniss Everdeen by Ruby

Katniss Everdeen by Ruby - April 2014 Scholarship Essay

Imagine living in a world where having just one meal a day meant hunting for countless hours; where your country was divided into districts, each strictly supervised by the government; where every year 12 boys and 12 girls are sent to an arena to fight to the death. This was the life of 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen in the book The Hunger Games.

Living alone with her younger sister, Prim, and her mother, Katniss spent her days hunting for food, taking care of her family, and dreading the infamous Hunger Games. She had dreams of running away and finding somewhere where she could be safe. She dreamed of what life would be like if she wasn’t stuck in District 12. She constantly risked her life for the people she loved, and it eventually came back to haunt her.

The day of the reaping, when the boys and girls would be chosen to participate in the Hunger Games, Katniss was forced to face the harsh reality that truly anyone could be chosen for the part. “Primrose Everdeen!” said Effie Trinket. Everyone at the reaping got silent. They cleared the way for 12-year-old Prim, and were secretly grateful it wasn’t their names called. Katniss imagined her child sister in the arena; starving, thirsty, fighting for her life. “I volunteer as tribute!” screamed Katniss Everdeen. Once again, Katniss was risking her life for the ones she cared about. She knew that she might not survive the games and she knew that she would have to leave her mother and sister by herself for who knows how long, but she also knew that anything was better than putting the most important person in her life in this position.

Katniss, though only a fictional character, was compassionate, caring, and brave. All she ever wanted to do was protect those around her, and she valued their lives more than her own. She risked her life to save her sister’s. She went out and fought with 23 other boys and girls just so that her mom wouldn’t have to live without her youngest daughter. She went to the Hunger Games to represent all of District 12. She taught me what it really means to care about someone.
Unique family systems, similar to Katniss’, are definitely one of the elements of social work that I look forward to exploring further on in my career. I could only ever dream of being as courageous and selfless as Katniss Everdeen, but reading about her has given me motivation to try.