Board Thread:Season 23 - Greece/@comment-25438226-20150118055015/@comment-25567389-20150118071116

hi renz! thanks so much for the questions and the honesty and for the openmindedness, i look forward to answering them and hope that i can still convince you that i'm worthy of the title of sole survivor. i would also like to say that i do not intend to be disrespectful to the jury in any way and have been trying to avoid this in my statements and answers, so if you feel that i am being disrespectful or a jerk then i sincerely apologize. i know that everyone here was an integral part of the game and everything that happens, and i have nothing but respect for that.

before i answer the questions, i wanna just quickly respond to your statement and specifically what you said about me being in a power alliance and that invalidating my success. you're right that i was in a position of power most of the game - however, as i mentioned in my answer to jessica, i do not believe this means i'm undeserving of being here. the thing about being in a powerful alliance is that i had to work for that and if my social and strategic game had not been so effective i definitely wouldn't have been in that position. i was never just handed a power position, i was never guaranteed safety, i gained these things through my relationships and my adaptability. i understand your perception of this and i know that it might seem like i had it easy due to my alliance, but the only reason that my game was "easier" for me was because i worked very hard to make it that way, which i think shows strength and is indicative of a good strategy. i was able to make myself safe, which is ultimately what got me to the end, rather than luck or the whims of other people.

okay so your questions:

1. If I would have told you that we were voting for you at the f5, would you have laid out your plan and tell me what is up as a gesture of apology for all the lies that you have told me in this entire game?

to be honest, i don't know. i was aware that everyone was voting for me, though - in fact, this is something that MJ and i encouraged, in order to make sure that the vote went the way that we wanted and because i was going to play the idol. that being said, i tried to be as honest as i could in this game to everyone, including you, and despite what people think i actually managed to avoid a lot of outright lies to people. not saying i didn't lie, because i did and i own that, but i never did so if it wasn't absolutely necessary. but yeah, if you had told me you were voting for me i believe i would have told you that i was voting for you. however i think we both know that there were a lot of times in this game when you were dishonest with me or avoided telling me what was going on (which i totally understand and respect) so i hope that you understand that this is a part of the game and i had to utilize it just as much as you did.

2. How different do you think would the game be for you if you were not aligned with MJ, Hanne, and Jessica?

my game would have been completely different without this alliance, seeing as this is what allowed me to thrive for so long and ensure my safety. i don't think this should be seen as a discredit, rather, i made the right choice in aligning with these people and helping it stick together for so long.

3. What is your personal opinion on castaways who constantly lie although they do not really have to just to get to the end? Do you think you are one?

i wouldn't say it's my favorite strategy but i firmly believe that almost all paths to the end are valid in that they accomplish what they are meant to, so if that's the strategy that someone chooses and it works out for them, then more power to them honestly. this is above all else a game and it's important to remember that; it's easy to get caught up in or hurt by the moral/personal aspect of it but that's not really what survivor is about. that being said, no, i don't think i am one of these people. like i have said, i never lied if it wasn't necessary to me getting further in the game. i know that when you're the person who has been lied to it doesn't feel like a necessary thing but lying is not a thing i did just for fun, i do not enjoy being manipulative and i never set out with the intention to hurt or to disrespect. there was always a reason behind my actions, and if you have more questions about specific things that i did i am definitely happy to answer in order to help people understand the truth of this.

1. I believe a castaway who can analyze their competitors' gameplay is a real winner, so what do you think is the biggest mistake I made in this game for me to not be sitting there?

when i played with you, i noticed that you had a tendency to omit the truth or lie about what you were doing for the votes unless i confronted you about it after finding out through someone else. this made me nervous to work with you because i could never tell if you were being honest, and you didn't do much after you lied to make me feel like i should trust you. i recognize that this might sound a bit hypocritical seeing as i lied to you just as much, but i made efforts to apologize and heal our relationship when i did this, whereas i felt like you just pretended like it didn't happen. as far as our alliance at least i think this was your biggest mistake, as well as perhaps your tendency to wait long periods of time before answering messages which caused a little bit of anxiety as well.

2. I believe that a castaway who played with big moves is a real winner, so what do you think is the biggest move you made in this game?

i believe i had a lot of important moves in this game, but one of the "biggest" would probably be blindsiding will. i did not initiate this, which might disqualify it as mine in your opinion (which i would understand) but i believe it was my biggest move because i was a major part in making will feel safe enough to not play his idol and also in convincing the people betraying him that i was on their side. will was watching me very carefully at this point and if i hadn't convinced him that i was with him, he absolutely would have played it and sent missy home, which would have changed the whole game and made it a lot more difficult for me to continue since i'd be on the bottom. instead, this move sent a major threat home and also was the starting point of several essential relationships for me, specifically my relationships with jace and eoin. by making sure will was blindsided, i allowed myself to have a social foundation for the rest of the game and keep my alliance with missy and jessica alive. so i think this move reflect my adaptability and my continual strategy of getting to the end through my strong social abilities.

3. I believe that a castaway who can admit their flaws is a real winner, so what do you think is the biggest mistake you have made in this game?

i think my biggest mistake in this game was the way i handled the "destruction" of the tumblr alliance. i do not regret making a move with MJ to take out a major threat and get myself one step farther, but i do believe that i could have and should have made this happen in a different way. primarily, the way this happened was not good because i immediately alienated jessica who had been my #1 ally and who probably would have been a better person to take to the end. i wish that i had made this move at a better time or executed it in a different way so that i could have prevented this.

4. I believe that a castaway who plays with humility is a real winner, so give me a reason why the other two castaways deserve the title more than you do.

MJ deserves this title more than i do because he was a major strategic player, he came up with a lot of the "big moves" in this season and had a lot of influence within our main alliance. he was also physically stronger than i was in this game, and he avoided betraying as many people by not building as many relationships. he is absolutely worthy of the title of sole survivor and deserves so much respect for the game that he played.

sora deserves this title more than i do because he didn't betray as many people and because he won one more immunity than i did.

5. I believe that a castaway who made adversaries and allies is a real winner, so if you could pick one worthy ally and one worthy adversary among the members of the jury to sit next to you, who would those be and why?

<p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);line-height:22px;">an ally - i actually believe there are several but if i have to pick one i believe hanne is most worthy of sitting here at the end because she was a great strategic player, was loyal, was physically strong, and helped to orchestrate many of the season's biggest moves. if hanne had made it to the end i would fully expect her to win and she'd probably have my vote if i were on jury.

<p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);line-height:22px;">an adversary - it's hard to define this one because pretty much all of my adversaries were also my allies at one point and in fact my most obvious adversary, sora, is in fact sitting next to me. but i guess i would have to go with you since i think you're the next closest thing to an adversary due to our lies to each other. i believe you are worthy of being at the end because you had a solid strategic game and you had a very under-the-radar game that was effective in allowing you to get far and do very well. i was very impressed by you and your ability to work with what you had, and i think you deserve recognition and respect for the game you played.

<p style="color:rgb(0,0,0);line-height:22px;">thanks so much for the questions and i hope you will still consider me for your vote, because i think i executed my strategy effectively and got here through my own actions  and abilities.