Board Thread:Survivor 43: San Andrés/@comment-4857808-20200522185946/@comment-26156957-20200522235705

Hi Matthew! I hope all is well for you. Though I’m not sure why you have the perception that my overall game lacked any excitement, I sure hope I can convince you otherwise!

Now with the complete perspective of the game in mind, I had the biggest longshot at reaching FTC after you and Chieko were voted off. I always stood out more than Abi and Aaron since y’all viewed Aaron as non-social and Abi as non-threatening while I was more capable in challenges. When I lacked immunity, there was no telling if I could survive and that was always the thrill of every round for me. The perception of the people who tried and failed to vote me off could overtime be viewed as a “cockroach you can’t kill” style of gameplay and I think that makes for an exciting come-from-behind victory.

We all know the Jim/Mackie/Izzy threesome formed this incredible behemoth of a force to be reckoned with when nobody else realized it, only to finally oppose them when it was already too late. The threesome burned bridges with plenty of the jurors and I’m sure that’s why y’all found them so memorable right after being voted off. From a viewer’s perspective, that threesome could be seen as a predictable Final 3, but ONLY I was able to prevent that. I basically single-handedly split that threesome apart when I should’ve been voted off a long time ago. I eventually became the true underdog and I proved that, even though I suffered from noticing those three too late as did the rest of y’all, I still formed the correct setup to navigate myself to the end with the right judgments, resources, and connections to pull it off.

I think the best philosophy when approaching Survivor is to play a game that best suits you and your best strengths. I’m a very calculating person, so my game adopted a primarily strategic mindset, as evident with my technical and game-botty confessionals. My game easily stood out alongside Mackie and Izzy, but I didn’t need to rely on flashy and splashy gameplay to reach Day 39 when I was apparently not in complete control. I put forth my best interests before anyone else’s and collaborated with those who shared it as such. I played with intuition and adaptability, making effective moves, both long-term and immediate, when necessary to solidify myself with a seat at FTC. I managed to utilize everyone’s perception of me as a high-profile player to ensure my safety despite always being at risk.

I think my own self-evaluated perception revolves around the thought of “can he really pull it off?” Exciting gameplay or not, my game represents the sheer intensity of never stopping at going against the grain. I played my cards that I had been dealt with this game, which is more struggling in my position when compared to Jim and Mackie. Despite not eliminating all the major players, I still got myself to the end, which has definitely been the hardest road I've had in any ORG that I've played to get to.

Anyways, I’m glad I reached out to you when we merged. Despite our brief convo’s I always enjoy meeting new people and you were easily a highlight for me. Take care!