Catching Fire

by Aarushi Mutreja

When I was in middle school, my dad bought a boxed set of The Hunger Games series. Before letting me read it, he insisted on completing the series himself. Following his read-through, he exclaimed that it was “too dark” and that I wasn’t allowed to read it. I did anyway. It confused me because I simply could not understand my fathers response. To me, the series was a thrilling adventure that I followed Katniss on. Yes, it was a little violent and sad, but I had already read other books with similar themes. It was years later, when I revisited the books in high school, that  I started to understand. I began to see The Hunger Games as a critique, a warning even, concerning the path that we are on as a society. 

Reflecting back on the plot of The Hunger Games, it is evident how little hard work matters in a system that is built against you. The games created the illusion of a fair competition, where people were randomly chosen and no one knew anything about the challenges they would soon face. This couldn’t be less true. From a young age, children in richer districts were trained for the possibility of participating in the games. On a far more basic level, they had access to good living conditions and resources that people, like Katniss, did not have. How then is it a fair game when some participants have less opportunities and experience than others? Is this not a perfect representation of “The American Dream” where people say that if you work hard enough, you can achieve anything? Meanwhile, the wealthy have greater access to every opportunity. 

The separation between the districts in the world of The Hunger Games serves as a reminder of the social ladder and how difficult it is for those without wealth to escape the situations they are born into. Just like Panem, where it is almost impossible for people to leave their district and make a living in a richer one, the US has a drastically low rate of social mobility. Only 8% of children raised in the bottom 20% of income distribution are able to climb to the top 20% in their lifetime. With such a low figure, it is clear that this is the exception, not the rule. 

I remember watching the movies, seeing crowds in the Capitol don their extravagant attire and flash their brightest smiles, having the time of their lives. Meanwhile people in poorer districts were fighting for their own. I remember thinking that there is no way something like this could happen in reality. There is no way people could get so caught up in the glamor that they lose sight of (or simply do not care about) human suffering. Enter the 2021 Met Gala. The theme? In America: A Lexicon of Fashion. Celebrities paid $35,000 for a ticket to this event, all while right outside the building, at least nine people were arrested during a Black Lives Matter protest. “Black and brown people are on the brink of houselessness. We cannot go back to normal. Where was your rage last year?” 

Inside, the party went on.

Cover Photo by Kate Iko

Perfectionism as a Negative Derivative to Mental Health

by Honor Durham

I don’t remember how long I sat in that library. Maybe it was fifteen minutes, maybe it was an hour and a half. I didn’t want to process what had just happened during my calculus quiz, but I couldn’t seem to suppress my thoughts. I can recall the sinking sensation in my stomach that seemed to confirm I was a complete failure. While I was debating what went wrong at the library, I realized so much had been going on in my life. I was always so stressed that being overwhelmed felt normal to me, despite my mental health suffering as a result. Even though I studied for as long as I could, it was not enough. The different parts of my life were pulling me in different directions, and it was difficult to balance the things that were important to me. Yet I couldn’t seem to give up something to give life a little more balance. This train of thought led me to register that my perfectionism was causing me to deteriorate. I have always strived to be perfect, and it has been my underlying motivation to achieve my goals for as long as I can remember. It has been so ingrained in me throughout my developing years that as I start to burn out now, I struggle to manage it.

As a perfectionist, it feels as though you must say yes to anything that is remotely beneficial, be that personally or professionally. You want to be a model human being who juggles responsibilities flawlessly. And you expect yourself to be this person without complications. You don’t account for setbacks or the possibility that you might need to give something up. It’s like bringing a paper bag for a huge shopping trip and expecting every item you buy to fit without breaking. The bag is almost guaranteed to rip, similar to the inevitability of failure in a person’s life. But a brain riddled with perfectionism finds this difficult to accept. 

As you try to take on work, school, extracurriculars, and social life, each aspect becomes harder to handle. Your ability to manage everything weakens and your efforts become sloppy. You increasingly mess up, which infuriates your perfectionism each time. You start to feel tired, tasks take up more energy, and you fall into a hole you cannot seem to get yourself out of while your to-do list gets longer. It is at this moment the bag of groceries rips, and you cannot put everything back inside. No matter how durable or big the paper bag is, a torn bag won’t hold even the smallest items. This was where I was mentally following the calculus quiz. I realized I was so burnt out that I could not do tasks that normally would require little effort. 

It is not easy deciding personal habits need to change. However, one aspect of being a perfectionist helps in this regard. I have noticed that what fuels me to pull myself out of my bouts of “burnout” is my desire to see solutions to any problem I have in my life, So, motivation was not necessarily an issue. The hardest part, in my experience, was figuring out which routines to alter, and how significantly they should be changed. 

I pulled myself out of my calculus quiz slump by essentially bringing a sturdy tote bag as a backup to the paper bag. After the bag rips and the groceries are scattered, you understand not everything can fit in the new tote so something has to be left behind. When you pick up the remains of your groceries, you choose the things that are the most important to you and remove the “clutter” that you can do without. It is the same process as figuring out what needs to take a backseat when you are burnt out. I realized that I needed to stop going to some student clubs for a week or two and carve out downtime in my schedule at night when I would normally be studying. While I felt guilty that I could not manage everything I wanted to do, I learned how to forgive myself by noticing how much better I felt relaxing before going to bed and how my to-do list suddenly seemed easier to tackle. Suddenly, it did not feel like I gave up anything at all. Rather, it was like I gained part of myself back. I’m not going to remember that calculus quiz in six months, but I will remember the way I recovered from it and use it in the future. Next time, I won’t even need the paper bag or have to guess how much will fit without it ripping. I’ll just bring my tote bag as my initial support.

Cover Photo by Natalie Pricer

Slow Match

by Lauren Tamborino

Every day, at least one person asks me, “How are you?” 

I can either lie and say “I’m good,” or I can tell them how I really feel. The truth is, they will most likely agree with me regardless. 

Usually, in springtime, I would feel overjoyed that the school year is coming to an end. It means that summer is almost here, and we can all be worry free. I felt motivated, ready to overcome whatever was thrown my way. Ever since I began college, I have noticed myself feeling extra “under the weather” whenever this time of the year comes around. 

Blank faces and empty stares replace the smiles and laughter. Conversations are harder to start, and listening has become a difficult exertion in itself. The passions we once had for certain things have slipped away from us. Less and less students attend lectures each week. The athletes that once were in love with their sport are quitting due to mental health and feeling overstimulated. College students that aren’t passionate about something anymore are dropping out. Students who have jobs feel like they cannot balance school and work at the same time and are forced to quit their jobs. Everything is just becoming too much. 

The spark that signifies our passions for whatever it may be is slowly burning out. I have noticed that by the time spring break comes around, students start to feel this pain. It gets harder to get out of bed in the morning, and even harder to fall asleep at night knowing you did not get done what you wanted to do. 

The more there is to do, the more burnt out you will feel. It is important to find a balance with what makes you happy and what you know you have to get done. Never stray away from the things or people in life that make you feel like your true self. By finding a passion for something you love, the fear of burning out too quickly will start to fade.

Cover Photo by Anastasia Luridas

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