Overcoming My Mind by Victoria
Victoria's entry into Varsity Tutor's October 2025 scholarship contest
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Overcoming My Mind by Victoria - October 2025 Scholarship Essay
The pounding in the chest as thoughts race through the mind. The never-ending turmoil of fear and anxiety is nearly impossible to break through. I never struggled with these feelings until I went to middle school. In a new district, surrounded by strangers, I was the quiet, nerdy girl no one talked to. I almost let my anxiety cripple me and stop me from going to school. Without the help of Katniss Everdeen from Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games, I never would have learned how to push myself past these barriers. Katniss Everdeen taught me to be brave and that the only way to overcome fears is to persevere and never give up.
In the first novel, Katniss is determined to prevent her sister, Primrose Everdeen, from competing in the bloodthirsty “Hunger Games”. She volunteers herself as tribute and promises to come back alive for her sister. She doesn’t let her fear of dying overcome her body. Instead, she trains the best she can with her weapons, studies her opponents, and constantly comes up with various plans to survive. Sure, her situation was a bit more drastic, but I was able to utilize these skills in my own arena. Despite my trepidation about going to school, I pushed myself to get on the bus and met with my counselor. I openly communicated with my teachers about what I needed help with to ensure I could succeed and never let myself fall behind. Like Katniss, I used the tools given to me to overcome my fears and push myself to triumph against the internal battle of anxiety.
Katniss also displayed the importance of finding allies to get her through her troubles. She gets to know Peeta, the boy from her district who was picked for the games, and works with him to beat her competitors. In the later books, she also meets other winners and rebels, including Finnick, Joanna, and Boggs, among others. She pushed against her instincts to distrust them and let them in so they could help her win the war against President Snow. My counselor offered to connect me to a peer in my grade. My initial reflex was to say no, but I pushed back against instinct and agreed. Through this, I met my best friend, who had a huge part in making me feel welcome at the school. Seeing Katniss find new friends and trust them in such a dark place gave me hope and courage to do the same.
Lastly, while Katniss was able to let down her guard for her friends, she also didn’t let others meddle with her mind. President Alma Coin was the leader of the rebellion and the fallen District 13. She was praised by her followers, but ended up becoming as much a dictator as President Snow was when she proposed a “Hunger Games” with the Capitol’s children. Rather than readily agreeing with her, Katniss saw the hypocrisy and ended up killing President Coin. Maybe violence wasn’t the answer, but it symbolizes her striking down ideas that conflict with her morals. Much like Katniss, I didn’t let anyone fool my mind, not even myself. It wasn’t exactly outside sources trying to break my spirit down, but the voice inside me saying I wasn’t enough or that I would fail. I struck that negative voice down and didn’t let it dictate my decisions.
Katniss Everdeen was a strong model of courage and self-confidence for me when I was in middle school. Her perseverance, ability to form relationships, and strong morals pushed me to fight against my own anxiety and overcome it. While I still get little panic attacks, I have majorly improved, and I know I owe part of it to Katniss Everdeen.