Post by Nadiya Anderson on Nov 8, 2014 20:16:43 GMT
I wanted to find a snazzier gif, but this was the only one I could get. #FirstBootProblems
- Nadiya's Opening Statement -
Hello hello, all you lovely jurors!!!
From here on in I'm going to drop the Nadiya-speak a little bit, because I think that you guys are gonna have a lot of important questions and statements directed my way, and I think y'all deserve to have your questions answered honestly.
First off, I'd like to thank John for being such a fantastic host, putting this whole thing together and planning out the twists and challenges so that we could have a great time. I really loved this game from start to finish, and I'm so glad that I got to be a part of it.
I'd also like to thank all of you guys for being a great cast! This game was a total roller-coaster from day one who made this experience really enjoyable (yes, even you, Jon). Great games can't happen without great players, and that's a fact!
I don't want to get into a big huge thing about my game, because I think that that's what the questions are all about, but I do want to say that I think that I was definitely someone who was always adapting and doing whatever I could to change things around to my benefit. Take the first round, for instance: I got tossed out as one of the Alpha nominations. And, sure, I was hurt by that and I felt a little betrayed, but instead of moping around I decided to get out there and practice my fire-making skills and show my tribe that I was a good competitor. And hey, look how many times those fire-making skills came in handy! I also spared Rudy, and that played a huge role in making myself seem empathetic to the guys so I could turn things around if and when the girls turned against me.
I think I played a pretty critical role in how the game took shape. I worked together with Erica to get the Coron idol, and I willingly let her have it so she'd have some protection when she left on vacation. But, when I saw that she hadn't played it, I used that knowledge and my photoshop skills to doctor up a fake one and turn away the voters that wanted me gone at final nine. I also made the orange El Corontay idol that Ashley pulled out at final eight, and that was a huge part of keeping the votes off me at final five. Was it dishonest? Absolutely. But it's much easier to stay honest when you're not a threat. When you're under the gun, sometimes you gotta get creative, and that's what I did. I was supposed to get votes at the final nine, but my name never showed up on a parchment until the final four, and I was vulnerable every single one of those rounds.
I also was never afraid to speak my mind when it came to getting rid of people like Jon, and getting myself and my allies into better spots even if it seemed a bit risky at the time. I was always in the thick of the alliances, keeping my finger on the pulse of the game and making sure that I knew what was going down and when. And you can take that positively or negatively, because I was out there spearheading moves and leading those charges, that meant that sometimes I made questionable decisions like taking out Kathy instead of Rudy, or taking Allie out instead of Carter. I made my fair share of mistakes along the way, and I'll totally own up to them. I would have liked to play a cleaner, more honest game than I wound up playing. I hated betraying Gina and Allie's trust at the final nine, and I hated voting out Kathy, but at the end of the day, I will take ownership of those decisions, and accept any hard feelings that come my way as a result.
So, at the end of the day, I think that my game wasn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I was someone who made big moves, who had good social connections, and who played hard in every facet of the game. There were probably some moves that I could have made differently, and some situations that I could have been a bit more tactful and graceful in, but I hope you guys will see those things for what they were: mistakes, not intentional attempts to hurt people.
Thanks for a great game, guys! Can't wait to hear your questions!