A Little R&R and Finding Your Katniss Everdeen {Thoughts on The Hunger Games}

Greetings from British Columbia! I’m on a much needed holiday and looking forward to enjoying some snow and spring skiing in Whistler and then a little sun and sand in Florida! As fate would have it, I came down with a nasty cold before we left so the vacation is off to a bit of a low key start (i.e. room service, a long nap and an early bedtime). But, the rest is just what I needed since I feel like I’ve been going full steam ahead, non-stop for the past few weeks. (Hence, the cold? I think so!)

I always feel so inspired and creative when I travel and see new places. Do you?

Any recommendations for things to do or places to go in Vancouver or Whistler are most welcome.

Last weekend, David and I saw The Hunger Games and I took some time processing it. I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t read the trilogy before seeing the movie, which is really unlike me, but isn’t the movie always more disappointing than the book anyway? This way I had no expectations 🙂

I felt so many different emotions throughout the movie: suspense, frustration, sadness … by the end I was emotionally drained. I’ve been thinking a lot about the movie, what it meant to me and the takeaways.  A friend and I were discussing it and to her this movie was about humanity, and I agree.

It’s about doing the right thing and treating others as you would want to be treated.

But for me there was more.

I was really fixated on the heroine, Katniss Everdeen (played by Jennifer Lawrence – who coincidentally is from my hometown of Louisville, Ky). Her character possessed the qualities of a strong woman, which, in the end, made her successful in the game. To name a few:

• Focus
• Strength
• Determination

Thinking about these character traits I realized that while in the movie they worked to her advantage, as women, we often get conflicting messages from society telling us strength and determination are masculine and to be feminine is to be sweet and look pretty. But why can’t we be both?

I think you can be sweet and still stand up for yourself. I think you can look pretty and still be able to kick some ass if you have to.

The Hunger Games is a movie that shows having strength of body, mind and spirit is not only sexy but can help you reach your goals, something most of us probably already know, but may sometimes be afraid to own.

If you’ve ever noticed yourself playing down your strength (and haven’t we all at some point or another), I challenge you to dig deep and find your inner Katniss Everdeen. For you, maybe that means standing up for what you believe is right (even it it’s not the popular stance or makes you seem less agreeable) in a meeting at work or pushing through the last few minutes of a grueling workout rather than stopping early.

Who is your inner Katniss Everdeen? Find her. Know her. Be her. 

Share with me in the comments below how you have strength in body, mind and/or spirit. Who is your Katniss Everdeen?