Real?

Dear anonymous,

I think that sometimes it is hard to discern what is Real and Not Real. Today I re-read Catching Fire. It led me to think about the whole Hunger Games series, Mockingjay in particular. Now it has been a long time since I have read Mockingjay so parts of the novel are fuzzy. The part I remember best however, (apart from Prim's death because who can forget that...) is the 'Real or Not Real' game that Peeta and Katniss play.

There's a fine line, I think, that dictates what is Real or Not Real. Maybe the line is our arbitrary cognitions. Is it so strange to think that we can decide what is Real or Not Real? At the end of the novel when Peeta says, "You love me. Real or Not Real?" and Katniss responds with "Real", it is a poignant moment. Yet it seems as though Katniss cannot ever really say it is Real because a part of her will always love Gale. Or is it so arbitrary that she can say it is Real because it is possible to love more than one person at a time?

I am rambling. Mostly, I feel like I don't know what is Real or Not Real in my life. I spend so much time pretending and faking and being who I think others want me to be that sometimes I think maybe I'm Not Real.

Love,
Michelle