Aim higher in case you fall short.

As long as you can find yourself, you’ll never starve.

I know. I was hoping," I say. "Exactly. Because you're desperate," says Haymitch. I don't argue because, of course, he's right.

District 12: Where you can starve to death in safety.

The main thing I feel is a sense of relief. That I can give up this game. That the question of whether I can succeed in this venture has been answered, even if that answer is a resounding no. That if desperate times call for desperate measures, I am free to act as desperately as I want.

A verbal promise behind closed doors, even a statement written on paper-these could easily evaporate . . . .

One time, my mother told me that I always eat like I'll never see food again. And I said, "I won't unless I bring it home." That shut her up.