The Hunger Games..

We live in a world that scarcely resembles the one that existed not too long ago.
Technology has been in a constant incline along with our conveniences, girls wear pants now, music has become.. for lack of a better word.. retarded (dubstep? really?), and the universe of hopeless romantics and true love has been annihilated and replaced with a battle field.

This phrase has been used before - that love is a battle field. But, the lovely 80's songs that claimed they knew anything of heartbreak and tragedy, couldn't have foreseen, or imagined in their wildest nightmares the catastrophe that is this 21st century; Our "modernized fairytale".

As it's been ground into our minds time and time again that the ship is going down, and world ending as we know it, every single adult from the ages of 18-31 has been forced to enter into an appalling competition. You see, every eligible individual in the said age bracket is forced to fight to the death- or til they get married, which ever comes first- against every other warrior in search of the same thing... love.
All is fair in love and war right?... there are no rules.
The main objective and purpose is to find a compatible companion, suffer as little as possible, and get the heck out of the fight. Once you find the said individual that you choose to exit the games with- you are promised a life time of fairy dust, and rainbows, that we like to call marriage... (Although... every contestant, or tribute, to exit the games is sworn to secrecy and forced to say it's all peaches and creme anyway - so... you kinda just hope for the best.)

In order to extinguish the hope of the surviving tributes faced to fight this fight, many obstacles are placed in the "arena" of the single dating world. When face to face with these obstacles all can seem virtually hopeless, but if all the tributes can just keep their head above water.. they hopefully can prevail. Although the obstacles are generally created to challenge the specific tribute's weaknesses, a few remain universal. Facebook, for instance, with it's never ending newsfeed of people that you thought were more pathetic than you, that would CERTAINLY never get out of the games before you..... that are getting engaged right and left... before you. The people that aren't afraid of pulling out the big guns.. that no longer have to watch their backs and think of combat strategy. HUGE obstacle. HUGE annoyance. Huge mind trap manufactured to drain our common sense and decent thoughts about humanity in general... also put there to bring out insecurities you didn't know existed. Woo!
Regardless.. champs.. keep your heads up... and let the 2012th hunger games BEGIN!

Now... as i anxiously await the movie premiere of the ACTUAL hunger games... you bet your bottom dollar i'm going at midnight.. I'm going to let the characters who have gone before us... fought the good fight... and come out victorious.. be our mentors in our own hunger games. Hopefully with smart training, and learning from the mistakes and lessons of iconic tributes, we will be able to give ourselves the best possible chance of surviving.. and winning!!

Let's start with my favorite: Peeta.

Peeta's outlook on life, is that no matter what you're faced with... fear.. doubt.. success.. money.... that you should remain the same person. That you should always maintain your core values, personality, and admirable characteristics. It doesn't matter the situation... or relationship you're in....the things.. or people.. that are placed in your life. Be you. Forever.

So. the first thing we need to do, to train up to be like Peeta.. to gain this weapon and be able to use it to our advantage.. is figure out WHO exactly that is. Who are you?.. What do you stand for?..
Once you figure out who you are in the very depth of your being.. then make a vow to yourself to never compromise it. Don't let yourself settle for being less than you really are, just because someone demands less of you.. or attempts to drag you down.

I know too many people that when fighting in these games, abandon everything they've ever learned about friendship. Girls.. and guys... that go at each other's throats in an attempt to land the same person. Homies.. there's more than enough people to go around. You don't need to sacrifice every friendship that you have in your attempt to connive and sneak your way into the heart of the one you feel is within your grasp.. or next on your radar. You badmouthing someone else in an attempt to somehow get ahead in this game... doesn't make THEM look stupid... it makes YOU look stupid. And anyone worth being with would see this as a weakness.. not a strength.
We are the average of the 5 people we are around the most... so the people we associate ourselves with.. and relationships we choose to have.. will help dictate how our character is formed and maintained. Choose to be around people and in relationships that make you more of the BEST you... that wont tolerate you being anything less than exceptional. And strive to be the person that others would want to be around for the same reason.

The other anti-peetites.. are the sad sad cases of tributes that lose themselves completely in an attempt to please someone else.. Those unfortunate souls that enter the games as one person... and exit as someone completely different, abandoning anything that remotely resembles the old them.. leaving an empty shell of a person.. sure to collapse under any sort of pressure or conflict.

My friend Jessie, is one of these unfortunate souls.
Jessie was an exceptional dancer.. that was out-going, friendly, and liked to make everyone around her comfortable. 

Jessie and Paul dated for 5 months. At first it was new.. it was fabulous.. there were fireworks.. she was in love!

But as they spent more and more time together.. Jessie danced less and less.. always finding reasons to get out of lessons and performances. Paul never flat out said he didn't like her dancing... but he wanted her.. to want to be with him.. over any thing else.. and dance was a major distraction as far as he was concerned. Little by little he stifled her light, claiming her out-going.. easy and likable personality, was her flirting and seeking attention from those around her. He hated that she found ease in any situation.. claiming that she lacked humility. 

Everything about Jessie changed.. one second at a time.. she transformed from a happy dancing fool, to a pocket-mouse of a shadow.. always in the wake of Paul in an attempt to make him feel superior. 

She exited the games as a completely different person than the sunshine light that she came in as. 

One of my best friends, Mark, had just started dating this girl, Kaitlin, when all of his sparkles faded.. all of his charismatic fire went out. He slowly faded into her shadow, adopted her meanness, and within a few months.. also became completely unrecognizable. Yes. He got out of the games... as someone totally different than the person he came in as. He abandoned his friends, tact, friendly demeanor. and is forever lost in a sea with no lifesaver. A guy that would do anything for anyone even if he didn't even know them.. became someone that was self centered that thrived in the demise of the happiness around him.

As i continue to reveal my true inner nerd...
When it comes to maintaining your true identity... combine your Peeta mentality.. with that of the sword of Griffindor from Harry Potter.
While we all should remain ourselves... every single one of us could do with some refining.. so.. only take in that which makes you stronger and better as a person.. disregard the things that would destroy your light and goodness. Avoid the retarded people out there that suck. Cuz being with them.... will make you suck too.

The second mentor from the games that we're going to train with is Katniss..

Katniss is admirable for her strength and independence. Plus she's a total Bad A. However.. we're going to avoid repeating things that - although could definitely further us in a fight of hand to hand combat.. shooting people and stuff... - when it comes to this LOVE hunger games.. will only hurt us.

While i'm probably the biggest fan of tough independent women there is.. I'm gonna start by saying STOP.
When it comes to getting out of THIS hunger games.... loading yourself up with armor and building a fortress around yourself and your heart.. will only leave you.. alone. which completely goes against the point of this whole war. So hey.. dummies... I know we all want to suffer the least amount possible.. however.. never letting people in.. will get you absolutely nowhere.
Don't be afraid to feel.. to be vulnerable.. and open to the idea that someone can actually pick you up when you fall. You don't have to just lie there until you heal.

Everyone is afraid of losing the upper hand by actually CARING about the other person in the relationship. I know this is unconventional... and in the eyes of all the tributes fighting, probably a pretty scary survival technique... but if everyone could make a 180 with their thinking... and worry about being the person that cares MORE in their potential relationships.. we might actually have some functional relationships here!
Yes.. this exposes you to potential gunfire... however.. if you put yourself out there.. and get shot.. then at least you can heal and move on.. rather than live in fear of getting hurt! Honesty never hurt anyone in the long run. so.
At least be open to the idea of love. You'll never go anywhere if all you do is shut out potential ways to be happy.  You with your big bad weapons of mass destruction.. will only end up in a big bad world.. all tough.. and by yourself.


The final tribute that we're going to take notes from and train with.. is Gale.

Now without getting into a big Team Peeta or Team Gale war.. even though im team peeta cause he's perfect.. whatever.. we're going to learn from the BIG FAT MISTAKE of Gale.. and hopefully come out more victorious than he did.

Gale.. is basically the male version of Katniss..
Everyone feels all sad for gale because they feel like he loved Katniss first and blah blah blah...
Even if you haven't read the books... all you need to know is that yes, apparently Gale loved Katniss for like 5 years.. and he didn't do a dang thing about it. Not ONE. So.. it's nobody's fault but his own when she gets swept off her feet by Peeta.
The lesson we're going to learn here...? FIGHT for the ones you love! When you feel something... SAY SOMETHING!! The worst thing that can happen.. is you get shot......... you heal..and you move on.
Gale had Katniss all to himself for so long and all he did was be her friend.. the strong silent type that.. uh.. ends up by himself.
You have nothing to lose and absolutely everything to gain by going after something you want. So do it!

 I'm not trying to rag on you here guys... but this is your JOB. DO YOUR JOB!! Take love by the horns and make some magic happen!! make a move. Ask girls out. The amount of money spent and the extravagance level of the date has absolutely NOTHING to do with anything. You don't have to spend ANY money.. but it is your job to pull out your big guns.. and make some plans. Control that destiny.
I'll tell you right now that there isn't a girl out there that wouldn't love to be swept off her feet.. so get a broom.

Take the first steps. Don't be stuck at home... watching the one that got away be with someone else cuz you were too chicken to say something or do something. Go make some magic happen..

As the world is ending as we know it.. let's all keep in mind that we wont be stuck in this huge sucky battle forever... And once we get out of this war... there lies a whole new set of challenges and rewards. The only thing we have complete control of.. is ourselves. Let's make sure that we are in the best shape possible -fundamentally.. emotionally.. physically.. intellectually..  and characteristically..- with the greatest weapons we can find in order to fight the good fight and come out victorious. Let's become warriors of love.. determined to fill the world with more of it... not determined to beat the system and somehow end up room mates with the closest thing we could find to real love. Do everything you can to be a winner..  Go get fighting. Let the 2012th Love Hunger Games begin...


Until later..
xoxox
-Callymon