Hello jurors! First I’d like to say congratulations to AJ & Justin for sitting here with me. I’d also like to thank JB for taking a chance on me.
From the very start of this game, I knew I’d have to fight to be taken seriously. As an alternate, I had to fight my way into the game. My performance in that poll showed how much this game means to me, as I was willing to go above and beyond to earn my spot.
At the beginning of the game, I was chosen to be on Aymara. We performed well in challenges, so we didn’t have to vote until the triple tribal. I formed an alliance with Patrick, Pat, Logan M, & Cole to guarantee my safety in the event of an early tribal. When Hufus won the triple tribal reward, I convinced him to nominate Lilly Z & Logan H, as they were the two people on my tribe that I wanted to vote out. This guaranteed that at least one of my targets made an early exit.
At the swap, my game really picked up. There was 3 Aymara members on my tribe, with Cole joining us after tribal from exile. I expressed hesitation with voting Lilly S, and I felt like my wishes were not being taken seriously. When Logan M threw his vote, I flipped and voted him out in the revote. I did this for two reasons: 1. I felt that I was on the bottom of the Aymara alliance since my attempt to target Nolan was not taken seriously, and I didn’t feel that I was able to have any real input in strategy talks. 2. I wanted to take control of my own game. By flipping, I showed that I intended to be taken seriously and control my own fate rather than be taken for granted as nothing more than a vote.
At the merge, I was in a tricky position. I became a possible target for flipping on Aymara. I sided with the majority in voting Cole because I knew that if it wasn’t him it could’ve very well been me. I did intend on working with Cole, but I couldn’t keep him after he lost trust in me. At the f12 vote, it became clear that I wasn’t being taken seriously within the majority. A part of my deal with Lilly was that we would vote out Nolan at the first opportunity. It became clear that her alliance had no intention of honoring that deal, and it also became clear that the minority side had multiple cracks, and I was likely on the bottom of the majority alliance. In order to improve my position, I formed a plan with Ben to vote against Livingston. By this point, I had built a close relationship with Hufus so I attempted to get him to flip as well. I didn’t intend on going to rocks, but I knew I couldn’t back down. Chandler going home was incredibly unfortunate, as I had also formed a side alliance with him aka “The Insta Buddies.” Livingston had to go next, as I didn’t have a solid relationship with him, and I viewed his alliance with Lilly/Akshay/AJ/Hufus as too tight. Voting him weakened the ties within that alliance, giving me time to regroup. At the fast forward, I knew that Lilly was the likely target, yet Hufus told me he had another idol. Before the votes were read, I told him to play his idol on Lilly. Doing this enabled me to blindside my longtime target (Nolan) without my alliance knowing. It also showed the minority that I was willing to keep my options open. At this point, I knew I had to start planning for the endgame. I made final 3 deals with Justin & Ben, as well as Patrick & Pat. I also made the decision not to rehide an idol at the auction, as I knew it could only hurt my game. I knew I needed to cut Lilly at this point, as there was nowhere for me to hide if I kept her.
At f8, the game really changed again. I pushed to vote for Akshay, yet Ben blindsided Patrick. I knew I could no longer take Ben to f3, as he had a big move of his own to take credit for. At f7, I had to make the difficult decision to cut Hufus, as he was a huge social threat. I attempted to get the votes to blindside Ben, but it was clear that plan had no traction, so I sided with the majority in voting Hufus. At f6, I was planning on trying to make a move against Ben, yet he won immunity. Ben found about the plan that Pat & I tried to form against him, so I knew I no longer had his trust. Despite my pushing, Ben was not willing to vote Akshay, and Pat was sent home. At this point, I felt truly alone. My chances were not looking good. I worked my ass off to win the final 5 immunity challenge, saving myself when I needed it the most. Akshay was voted out unanimously for being the biggest threat by far. At the final 4, I knew I’d have to fight. I campaigned aggressively to both AJ & Justin to ensure that I earned a chance to plead my case.
I fought hard throughout this entire game to make my voice heard and improve my own position. I won an immunity challenge when it was absolutely necessary and I took out the people that would’ve been my biggest threats in the final 3. This game was full of ups and downs for me, but I believe that I demonstrated the awareness and solid social gameplay to earn the win. Even when I was disliked by several people in the game, I found myself in a swing position on multiple occasions, and I leveraged my relationships to put myself in the best position I could at any given point in the game. Thank you for your time if you read this, and I’m willing to answer any questions you may have.