Post by aj on Aug 4, 2013 13:34:31 GMT -5
Hey everyone,
After 50 days (yes, today is day 50) things are finally winding down. Without a doubt this is the craziest and most emotional game I’ve ever played! But I don’t regret a minute of it.
Knox said in a few of his answers that part of this journey is a process of self-discovery, and I totally agree. After reading your comments, I’ve realized that a weakness of mine is that I may not be fully aware of how my actions affect other people. I don’t take any of your comments lightly, and I am going to work on being more self-aware after this game is over.
That being said, I am extremely proud of the game I played. While my competitors might argue that they had a tougher road by coming into this game with very few preexisting relationships, I never once saw my previous friendships as a strength. There were many others here who knew me before this game, but they knew I had friends, and they knew I have a strong social game. Any one of them could have taken the initiative to get me out of this game. No one here wanted to work with me just because we were friends. I still had to have a good social game to build strategic relationships. If I didn’t prove to each person here that keeping me around was going to benefit them, there’s no way I would make it to this point, friends or no friends.
Nothing makes you a bigger target than having your name out there in a subtitle of this game. To have a large majority of this game referred to as “AJ v. Ellen” the odds of one of us making it to this point was very slim. Additionally, it’s no secret that I’m not good at challenges, and I’m simply not a genius mastermind like Thiago. It would have been very easy for anyone to take me out of this game, but I didn’t let it happen. I took these weaknesses and made them into strengths. I was able to showcase my challenge/idol hunting weakness and lack of strategic ability to show people that I am worth keeping in the game. In reality, I was always a step ahead. Every judgement I did not attend, I am confident I would have survived because I had a plan for it. Every time I was casting my vote, I was thinking about what I would do the following round. In spite of idol-roulette, I controlled my own destiny. I made my own decisions to get to this point. I looked at every option I had, and I executed my own plan to make it here. I took risks, and they paid off. While some might have let the dynamics of the game benefit them, I never sat back and watched it all play out. I was the one in on the action.
At the end of the day, I think I am absolutely deserving of being the winner of this game. I played this game confidently, and with stealth. I was upfront with what I was doing, and secretive with what I was thinking. I positioned myself perfectly, and used the skills I have to make it to the final judgement. (And if this went a round further and we were having a final 2, I think I would have made it there as well.)
For the last time, absolutely no hard feelings towards anyone! Everyone says it, but it’s the truth: it’s just a game. I hope you guys will be willing to continue your relationships with me when this game is over.
Finally, good luck to both Knox and Thiago!! I love you both!
After 50 days (yes, today is day 50) things are finally winding down. Without a doubt this is the craziest and most emotional game I’ve ever played! But I don’t regret a minute of it.
Knox said in a few of his answers that part of this journey is a process of self-discovery, and I totally agree. After reading your comments, I’ve realized that a weakness of mine is that I may not be fully aware of how my actions affect other people. I don’t take any of your comments lightly, and I am going to work on being more self-aware after this game is over.
That being said, I am extremely proud of the game I played. While my competitors might argue that they had a tougher road by coming into this game with very few preexisting relationships, I never once saw my previous friendships as a strength. There were many others here who knew me before this game, but they knew I had friends, and they knew I have a strong social game. Any one of them could have taken the initiative to get me out of this game. No one here wanted to work with me just because we were friends. I still had to have a good social game to build strategic relationships. If I didn’t prove to each person here that keeping me around was going to benefit them, there’s no way I would make it to this point, friends or no friends.
Nothing makes you a bigger target than having your name out there in a subtitle of this game. To have a large majority of this game referred to as “AJ v. Ellen” the odds of one of us making it to this point was very slim. Additionally, it’s no secret that I’m not good at challenges, and I’m simply not a genius mastermind like Thiago. It would have been very easy for anyone to take me out of this game, but I didn’t let it happen. I took these weaknesses and made them into strengths. I was able to showcase my challenge/idol hunting weakness and lack of strategic ability to show people that I am worth keeping in the game. In reality, I was always a step ahead. Every judgement I did not attend, I am confident I would have survived because I had a plan for it. Every time I was casting my vote, I was thinking about what I would do the following round. In spite of idol-roulette, I controlled my own destiny. I made my own decisions to get to this point. I looked at every option I had, and I executed my own plan to make it here. I took risks, and they paid off. While some might have let the dynamics of the game benefit them, I never sat back and watched it all play out. I was the one in on the action.
At the end of the day, I think I am absolutely deserving of being the winner of this game. I played this game confidently, and with stealth. I was upfront with what I was doing, and secretive with what I was thinking. I positioned myself perfectly, and used the skills I have to make it to the final judgement. (And if this went a round further and we were having a final 2, I think I would have made it there as well.)
For the last time, absolutely no hard feelings towards anyone! Everyone says it, but it’s the truth: it’s just a game. I hope you guys will be willing to continue your relationships with me when this game is over.
Finally, good luck to both Knox and Thiago!! I love you both!
