The Hunger Games Has Stolen My Brain

Let me confess: I have literally been completely swept up in the world of Young Adult fiction over the last 72 hours. It’s embarrassing, but I have finally given into the lure of The Hunger Games and I have like an addict-reading so voraciously that I have not been able to escape long enough to feed myself much less sit to write and put coherent sentences together. But rather than go on and on about my latest twelve-year old girl novel, I decided to dig into the archives and bring back an old post. This actually appeared first on Yahoo! but it bears repeating even now. Enjoy. I’m back to the land of Katniss Everdine.

I am nothing if not a firm believer that you are the people you surround yourself with. Growing up, my mom surrounded us with a cast of characters. I learned from each and every one. As an adult, my friends are just as eclectic as the people who filled my childhood home.My daughter will learn a lot from me. Some of it I will be proud of and some I wish she would never learn. No matter what kind of parenting job I do though, there are some things that will translate better coming from someone else. I hope, somewhere in my friend menagerie, she finds these ladies.

1. The Stalwart: This is the friend that is up for anything and down with anything. She has been around a long time and even if she doesn’t make appearances too often, her presence is felt in our lives. My daughter learns from this lady what it means to be loyal. She learns unconditional love. Mostly, she learns what always brings a smile to her mom’s face.

2. The Hippie: Sometimes, this is me but even I walk smack down the center of life sometimes-so as not to cause trouble. From The Hippie my girl will learn conservation. She’ll try tofu and take mission trips on spring break. She may see her first concert with The Hippie and it will be in some tiny club no one knows about. My daughter will see that conscious is cool and the fire to change the world will be lit. What The Hippie can teach above all is that if you believe strong enough, you can change the world. This friend will teach my girl to be a doer and then shout from the rooftops no matter how many apples get thrown your way.

3. The Power Girl: She runs and swims and sometimes skis or lifts her body weight in Kettlebells. That’s in her free time. During the day she runs companies or schools or businesses she started herself. She is energetic and passionate and certain that there is nothing any boy can do that she can’t-better or faster. She is woman. My girl will hear her roar.

4. The Artist: A creative life is something I have fought my whole life because it was not practical. I want my girl to see that a life worth living isn’t always about money, fame or making the trains run on time, but rather doing what you love. Writers, singers, painters, photographers, actors, whether big stage or small cafe I want my girl to see that pursuing a life with passion makes anything possible-even paying the bills.

5.The Faithful: I do not approve of zealots no matter their religion, but I do admire and aspire to people of profound faith-no matter their deity. There is power in giving yourself over to something bigger and more powerful than you. There is largeness in admitting you are small. Women of faith are a force to be reckoned with; especially when their spirit translates in quiet deeds rather than loud words. Women living their faith through the work they do on themselves and the world? They can teach my daughter everything.