Cyrus Lawson | District Five {FIN}

"Perfect, dear! Just like that!" My camera quickly clicks, snapping a superb shot of my photo's subject. The excitement that witnessing the final result of my work brings me is astounding. I adore being able to develop the film from my camera after I capture the images I desire. It took quite a bit of learning, as well as time and money, but I eventually was able to develop the film on my own. I have a setup for doing such in my home, and it's one of my favorite places to be. Seeing my photographs is one of the best things in the world, to me. I love being able to capture the memories in my life.

Unfortunately, it's quite difficult to obtain film for my camera nowadays. I have a limited supply, and therefore must restrain myself on the amount of photos I capture. I originally received the camera from my father in his will when he passed away. Although I miss him dearly, I'm glad that I have his old camera to remember him by. He used a lot of the film to snap photos of my sisters and I when we were younger. I now keep those pictures in a small shoe box underneath my bed, often opening it up to examine them once more and revel in my childhood memories.

Memories are a very important thing to me, which makes me very glad that my father was able to obtain this camera when he was younger. When he was about twenty years old, he bought the camera from a very poor, old man who insisted that he needed the money in order to feed his family. My father, being the kind man he always was, purchased the camera from him. Not too long after, however, the old man was found to have used the money to purchase illegal items for himself, and my father felt regret.

For years, my father kept the camera hidden away, never to touch it. When I, his first child, was born, however, he took out the camera once more and began using it to track the family's memories. I'm extremely glad that he decided to do this. Some days, however, I just wish there were more photos of him in that old shoe box that was stored under my bed. People say I look like my father did, and I suppose, upon examining the old pictures of him, I really do. We have the same, dark, brown hair, styled very similarly, our bangs somewhat long and flipped off to the side.

I suppose there are a lot of things that make me resemble my father in appearance. We both always dressed very nicely, even on the weekends when we didn't have to work and were allowed to be casual. I work as a janitor on weekdays at a power plant in the District, just like he did. I suppose the only time I don't dress my best is at work, since I have a particular uniform that I have to wear. I'm skinny and a little above average height, just like he was. I reach about five feet and eleven inches tall, and I've often been told that I'm too light weighted for me height. It's not an unhealthy weight, but I could use a little more bulk, admittedly.

One of my favorite things about the way I look is my skin. It's very smooth and rarely has any blemishes present on it. I do, however, have some things about my appearance that I don't like, too. I suppose the reason I'm never the subject of the photos taken on my camera (meaning I never ask anyone to take photos of me) is because I hate my smile. I have crooked teeth that aren't quite white enough and it really irritates me. Generally, when I smile, I don't show my teeth, since I don't find them to be all that visually appealing.

Regardless of the fact that I like most of my appearance, I'm not one to boast about the way I look, or really anything else, for that matter. I accept compliments, but I'm not always sure what to say in response to them, as I don't always think people mean them genuinely. For example; they'll tell me that they like my shirt, and even though I like it too, I often think they're just saying it to try to make conversation without being rude. I thank them for the compliment, and don't generally say much more about it. Generally, I tend to compliment others a lot, but only when I really mean it. I don't like to lie, and therefore will always give my honest opinion.

There is a negative side to always giving my honest opinion, however. Often, people will get offended by what I say, as I'm a bit too blunt. If I don't like something, I'll say it, as I like to be completely and entirely honest. If someone wants to know what I think, I won't lie to them. I suppose this makes people mad at me sometimes, but I can't really help it, as it's just who I am. I don't lie. I'm completely and brutally honest, even if that's not always a positive thing about me.

I hold myself high, as I'm a very confident person most of the time. It's hard to make me feel bad about most things I do, unless I hurt someone. I never want to hurt anyone. Causing harm to others is the number one thing that I don't allow myself to do. It's very much against my moral code, as I don't feel that anyone deserves to be harmed. I'd consider myself a pacifist, and often the mediator in arguments and fights among those I know. On some occasions, I'll even break up the fights or arguments of strangers, just to help them out when there's no one else around. Sometimes, people are annoyed by this, but most of the time, it's appreciated by those I assist.

Art and photography are my main hobbies in life at this point. I'm often found either sketching things that I am observing, or looking at the pictures that my father and I have taken in the past. My friends are generally very supportive of my hobbies, and I'm supportive of theirs. Even though I'm not very athletic and don't have much for endurance, my friends still convince me to play sports with them sometimes. I enjoy it, even though I'm not very talented at it. I really appreciate having friends that will introduce me to new things, all the while allowing me to do the same for them.

Intelligence is definitely something I have a plethora of. I'm quite book smart, and I also would consider myself to have good common sense. I would certainly consider this to be a positive part of my personality, as it allows me to better understand the world around me. Some days, however, I wish I could put my intelligence to work in a more proper career, rather than just being a janitor. At this point in my life, though, there's nothing I can really do about that.

When I meet someone, whether or not they seem to be at least somewhat smart is a vital factor in whether or not I feel that I can become friends with them or not. If someone completely lacks common sense or necessary intelligence, I generally won't communicate with them any more than I have to. My friend group could be considered to consist of mostly intellectuals. In all honesty, it makes me happy to have a person in my life who can challenge my intellect. It's nice to have some competition once in a while.

My siblings are people that I would be willing to consider to nearly match my level of intellect. They're all quite smart, even if they aren't quite at my level. I love all of them dearly, and truly wish that all of them were no longer or reaping age. Unfortunately, that is not the case. My two sisters, Anita and Mako, are sixteen and eighteen years old, meaning they can still be reaped. Luckily, my two brothers, Wally and Rob, are too old to be reaped, as they're twenty and twenty-four years old. I really wish I could better protect my sisters, but unfortunately, they remain at risk until they are older. It makes me feel like a bad brother, sometimes, when I can't shield them from harm.

In my younger years, I was always terrified of the reaping. None of us kids ever had to get tessera, as we're considered to be a rather wealthy family, but I still feared being selected and having to fight. I knew I wouldn't make it through if I were chosen. Luckily, it's been ten years since my last reaping, meaning that I'm safe from the grasp of the Hunger Games. I just hope that it stays that way for Anita and Mako, too. They don't deserve to go into that arena, no matter what.

"We're running out of film, dear. I think we should take a break for now, until I can get more," I tell the subject of my photo. She nods, getting up from the spot where she'd been posing. She's my sister, and although she may be beautiful, if anyone gets to close to her, I'll be keeping an eye on them. If anyone ever hurts my family, they'll have to deal with me. No one wants to have to fight Cyrus Lawson. Even though I won’t hit them, they would need to be prepared for my yelling.