Survivor

Thank you to everyone who supported and voted for me during my season on Survivor.  It will always be an experience to remember.  Many people still ask me “What was it like?”  I can honestly say INCREDIBLE!

I initially wanted to do Survivor because after three years I was still having issues losing my baby weight.  I figured it would be a great way to get in shape and experience new things, little did I know that it would be one of the most grueling experiences of my life.  Once I got to Brazil I had no Idea what I had gotten myself into.  When you’re watching Survivor from you warm and cozy couches, you see the dirt, the bugs, the physical challenges, and in the back of your mind you’re thinking “I could do this,” but the task of actually surviving the show requires a mental preparedness I had no idea I possessed.

The experience itself was unimaginable.  It was like being in a beautiful paradise, similar to heaven but being tortured while you’re there.  I had to endure three months of microdermabrasion treatments once I got back to the states due to all the scars bug bites.  I would put my buff over my face to preserve what unscarred flesh I had left.  One of the most difficult parts of the entire experience was being away from my family.  For seven and a half weeks I had literally no correspondence with the outside world.  No movies, TV, phone calls, we didn’t even discover who had won the 2008 presidency until we hit customs in Miami!

Going nearly three months without seeing my then three-year old son, Eriq, and my husband made me really appreciate what I had.  Without a doubt being away from my son affected me the most.  There would be times I would venture to the only “safe”, off-camera spot-the bathroom- and simply let it all out.

Keeping my identity secret was another challenge that in some aspects contributed to my being eliminated from the show.  I knew that if they had discovered who I was and especially who my husband was that I would be at the top of the chopping block.  I’m not deceiving by nature nevertheless I just limited my responses whenever they would inquire about my family, I never lied, I only stayed quiet.  For the most part keeping everything quiet was ironic because those within my own tribe had no clue who I was, but the other tribe knew everything about me.

Through it all I was simply amazed that I endured to the end of the show.  Fortunately for me, the other tribe was too busy tearing each other apart to worry about lil ole me so it worked well until the end where my alliance had thrown me under the bus!  Once I arrived home the anticipation to find out the ending of the show bothered my son the most.  Eriq would get so upset whenever my tribe lost a challenge.

As much as I would have loved to win the title of sole Survivor and the one million dollar prize, I’m glad that I came second to JT as the Fan Favorite of Survivor:  Tocantins.