Henry Wren | D8 {FIN}

It's always all about Oliver. It's never about you. You never get the attention that you want, or the attention that you deserve. Even Oliver's boyfriend, Jory, seems to get more attention that you do, and you're Oliver's own brother. Oftentimes, you feel alone. Ignored. Forgotten. It's caused you to start to feel depressed, and you're not always sure how to handle it.

You don't want to handle your depression in the way that Oliver does. He has all this time time that he could be finding a good way to cope, but ends up deciding that he'd rather be drinking, instead. The best thing you've found is music. Oliver taught you how to play the guitar when you were younger, before he was reaped, and you've never forgotten how to do it, taking every chance you had to keep on practicing. The thing is, no one ever seemed to notice you for it. Of course they didn't notice you, though. Why would they?

It's always been your dream to be noticed as a musician. Maybe if you had been born in the Capitol, it would have happened. They have all sort of people who get noticed professionally for their talent. Some of them even get paid for it. Here in District Eight, however, the only talents you have that you could ever get paid for are your cobbling skills. Your whole family consists of shoemakers, and has for generations, so of course, cobbling is something you became good at. It's not like you had much of a choice.

If you had been born in the Capitol, sure, you may have made it as a musician, but you were certain you'd hate almost everything else about living there. Sure, you'd be safe from the Games, but you'd have to live in a place where the Games were seen as a good thing, like some sporting event that hyped everyone up every year. When it came to their fashion sense, dear Ripred you hated that, too. They looked like some off-brand of party clowns, in your opinion.

You also hated the thought of having to live in such a crowded place. Your neighborhood in District Eight was a small one, quiet and peaceful. There was never any trouble there, really, but you knew that with crowds there often came trouble. That's why you never complained about home, at least not out loud. You knew that there wasn't a better option for you. This was the best that it would ever be for you, even if, in some ways, you were jealous of what others had.

Were you jealous of the wealth that some people had? Of course. Were you jealous of Oliver's popularity, even if he insisted to you that it wasn't a fun type of popularity? Most definitely. Were you jealous of those who got to travel District to District on work permits while you were stuck at home? Certainly. That didn't mean you weren't grateful for what you did have in your life, though.

You were grateful that you looked so much like Oliver. You'd always thought he was better looking than you when you were growing up, but now you were almost identical, you just looking a bit younger. It made you happy that you were so close with your sisters, and that they were always so kind. Of course, you also felt blessed that you still had your loving mother, even though your father was gone now. You were appreciative that you had Reggie and Oliver, too, as they'd taught you so much.

Even if you were jealous of others in your life, it didn't mean that you lacked love for them. It certainly did take a toll on you, though. Loving someone and being jealous of them at the same time can make you unsure of how to feel, and make it difficult to cope with certain things.

You hated a lot of things about yourself, too, which was a struggle, day-to-day. Something you struggled with was the fact that you didn't like the way you walked, as you had a bit of a limp, and the boys at school teased you for it. Another thing you didn't like about yourself was that you had such a hard time making friends, but a much easier time making people not like you, instead. You also hate that you've become so fragile. When someone would make fun of you or even just criticize something you've done, you would get very emotional most of the time.

There were still aspects of yourself that you did love, though, despite the many that you hated. You loved your musical talent, as it made you feel like there was actually something you were both good at and enjoyed. Another thing you liked about yourself, although you also hated it, was the way that you walked. Walking with a limp made you a lot like Oliver, without the trauma of it. No, you hadn't had your knee broken by a giant sloth in a terrifying arena where everyone's trying to kill you. Instead, you were born with your knee not quite formed properly. Regardless of how it happened, though, you and Oliver had something in common more than just your family, your job and your appearance. That made you feel good, being able to connect with him on something.

By starting to love who you were, you were rising up. This was a revolution against yourself, and you were going to make things change for the better.