Board Thread:Season 23 - Greece/@comment-25681381-20150116234927

Hey guys!

It's going to be hard now to talk against both Sora and Amelia seeing as I've been through a lot with the both of them, so to begin, I'd kind of like to focus on how I played my own game. The name of the game is Survivor. Survivor is Outwit, Outplay, Outlast -- those basically revolving around who excels in a this game physically, socially, and most importantly, strategically. And I feel that I did that to the best of my ability. "Physically," I always had one of the top scores in challenges, even n the ones that weren't flash games, I was practically always in at least the top 3. I worked hard and put a lot of time and effort into every challenge because I understood just how crucial immunity is. Socially, some might say that I slacked a bit in that department. I'll be the first to admit that my social game needs improvement. The bonds that I had with people, or at least thought I had with people were vital to my survival in this game. And I always tried my best to be friendly and get along with everyone. With that said, ultimately I do believe that however good or bad I was socially played a role in getting me here. Now strategically, I feel that I went above and beyond in this category. I thought out every single move that I made in this game--and then I thought it over again, and then again once more. I was confident that every move that I was making, every vote that cast was the right one, and that's proven true because I'm sitting here now. While in the midst of playing I viewed the game in 4 parts: pre-swap, post-swap, merge, and endgame. Pre-swap I saw that I just needed to sit back, stay quiet, and just stick to the plan that my alliance wanted. Which is a very effective strategy for the early game. Once the swap came around I saw an opportunity to change the direction of the game in my favor. I controlled the votes at all 3 tribal councils that I attended in that stage of the game. Once we merged, I found myself in an incredibly good position, with numbers in my alliance of Amelia, Jess, Hanne, and myself, as well as my alliance of Hanne, Sora, Erica, and myself. After we picked of a few of the outsiders, around final 8, I started to realize that my path to the end wasn't as clear as I wanted it to be, so I thought of a plan, in which I'd shake up the game once more at final 6; and once we got to that point I successfully executed that move, blindsidng Hanne with an idol in her pocket (had I not made that move, I highly doubt that I'd be in the finals right now). From that point, It was more than smooth sailing to the final 3 for me. Moreover, what I think I did more successfully than Sora and Amelia, was managing to take my fate into my own hands. Would Sora be in the finals right now if I didn't want him here? No way, I practically controlled his vote from NuLaconia to the final 5. If I wanted him gone, we could've easily voted him out at 7 or 6. And Amelia? Well.. Amelia wouldn't be in the finals right now if I didn't give them possession of my idol for the final 5 tribal council, and I could've just taken the easy way out and voted for Amelia at the final 4. I played a key role in every big move that was made in this game, and more than half of the time I was the driving force in the direction that the game went. I was never in danger of being voted out, and the ONE time that I did receive a vote, it was only a stray vote from Renz. Throughout each step of the game I was able to adapt and maneuver myself into the best possible position for me. Finally, I'm a huge fan of this game. And it's made clear time and time again that no matter how good of a game you played strategically, no matter how hard you fought, regardless of how superior of a player you might be seen as, the jury will always vote for the finalist that they like more. So I can only ask, that to the best of your ability as jurors, that you see the strategic game that I played, and you prioritize that over "oh he's the underdog," or, "they're pretty rad, at least they're super likable," because once again, the game is Outwit, Outplay, Outlast, and I don't think either of the two people beside me did that better than I did. Thank you, and I look forward to answering any questions that you guys have for me! 