Post by Nicole Schaffrich on Dec 22, 2011 14:27:31 GMT -6
Hi everyone,
Firstly, I want to say that I'm really excited that I made it to the final two. This has been a roller coaster of a season and I'm so happy to have been here the entire way. As most of you know, I'm pretty inexperienced in the ORG world; this was only my second game ever (and, in my first game, I was the first person evicted lol). I'm happy to have gotten to know a lot of you, some more than others, and I've made genuine friends along the way.
As a disclaimer, I intend to be brutally honest during questioning. There's something really off-putting about buttering up the jury heading into the final vote, and that's something I can assure you I will not do. I'm not going to pander for votes; I'm going to lay out the facts from start to end and answer every question as honestly and explicitly as possible. My hope is that you'll each look at this game - and the two somewhat different journeys that Porsche and I traveled to get here - and cast a purely objective vote for the better player.
Honesty and integrity are qualities that, while talked about constantly, are difficult to enact in Big Brother. We've all, at some point, claimed to be playing "an honest game," whether or not it was the truth. For some, playing a deceitful game under the guise of honesty was the whole point. When this season started, I imagined that this would be the kind of game I'd play. I envisioned myself making friends and backstabbing them at the drop of a hat, all for the sake of advancing myself to the finals. And I pictured myself sitting here, in the final two, telling you to vote for the more devious, cut-throat player because that's what Big Brother is all about. As the game progressed, however, I realized that this strategy is, ultimately, the easy way out. It's a sloppy strategy that requires more luck than gameplay, and more risk than reward. I didn't want to rely on luck and I didn't want to take risks that would yield only negative results. Instead, I played a thoroughly calculated game, evaluating the scope of every single decision before I made it. Sometimes, that meant making myself appear weak or susceptible to suggestion. Other times, I needed to work harder to establish myself as a competitive threat or a bigger target. At each stage in the game, I took stock of my position in the house - and the positions of each other housguest - before deciding on a plan of action.
I was in two core alliances at the start of the game: G-Force (with Jun and Porsche) and Cougar Power (with Renny and Karen). Eventually, these two alliances merged into the Zombie Slayers, with Karen being replaced by Sarah. And as Karen became less of a prominent player, I threw all my weight into the Zombie Slayer alliance with a particular emphasis on my relationship with Renny. I knew that the dynamics of this alliance, while mostly united, was always somewhat unstable. A major component of my strategy was fostering a sense of team unity that was essential to making it to the end. No matter what, I always emphasized making the best decisions for the alliance. When Jun began to stray and tried to convince me to turn on the Slayers, I was actually somewhat tempted. But ultimately, I decided to tell the girls everything. Similarly, when Dustin encouraged me to use the Power of Veto on him and backdoor Porsche, I was also tempted. But, again, I decided to relay every detail. I did this for the sake of getting the Slayers to the end, but ultimately, I was working to get myself to the end. My strategy was to be perceived as the most loyal, honest, and genuine player in the game. I knew that some of the Slayers had forged strong bonds with each other (many stronger than my own bonds) and I had to counter these relationships by presenting myself as the most reliable ally available. And, if my sitting here in the final two is any indication, I believe I was successful.
The interesting thing is that I can say, with a fair amount of conviction, that I've played a largely honest game (as honest as possible in a game like Big Brother). I never fabricated rumours about other players (even when I knew they were fabricating rumours about me), I kept my blatant lies to a minimum, and I was absolutely genuine in my relationships with you. Obviously, the only instance in which this doesn't hold true is Sarah's eviction, which was the hardest decision that I made all season and was purely strategic. My reasoning behind evicting Sarah was to ensure that Renny and I were in the finals (assuming that one of us would have won the final HoH). I feared that Porsche had a stronger competitive influence over Sarah than I did, and I didn't want Sarah (the strongest competitor aside from Renny and myself) in the final four if I couldn't guarantee my own safety. Like I said, that was a really difficult decision that I felt very guilty about, but it was the smartest strategic decision at the time. With the exception of that week, I genuinely believe I played a thoroughly well-rounded game that incorporated astute strategy, dominance at competitions (all skill-based, I should point out), and as much honesty as was reasonably allowed. There is something to be said about playing a strong social, competitive, and strategic game, and I think it's even more noteworthy that I was able to do this with a relatively high level of integrity and honesty. To make it to the end while cutting throats along the way is one thing; to make it to the end with sound strategy and as little deceit as possible is another.
Like I said, my answers will be no-holds-barred and I hope that your questions are too. I'm prepared to show you that I played the strongest game - specifically because it was fundamentally well-rounded and comprehensive - and that I deserve to win this season of Big Brother Recycled. I came into this with an extremely limited knowledge of the format of online games, and I had no pre-game friends or relationships. I worked extremely hard, every step of the way, to get myself to the end of this game. I take nothing away from Porsche, who played a strong social game, but my hard work and multi-faceted approach to this entire season make me deserving of your votes, and of ultimately being this season's winner.
Firstly, I want to say that I'm really excited that I made it to the final two. This has been a roller coaster of a season and I'm so happy to have been here the entire way. As most of you know, I'm pretty inexperienced in the ORG world; this was only my second game ever (and, in my first game, I was the first person evicted lol). I'm happy to have gotten to know a lot of you, some more than others, and I've made genuine friends along the way.
As a disclaimer, I intend to be brutally honest during questioning. There's something really off-putting about buttering up the jury heading into the final vote, and that's something I can assure you I will not do. I'm not going to pander for votes; I'm going to lay out the facts from start to end and answer every question as honestly and explicitly as possible. My hope is that you'll each look at this game - and the two somewhat different journeys that Porsche and I traveled to get here - and cast a purely objective vote for the better player.
Honesty and integrity are qualities that, while talked about constantly, are difficult to enact in Big Brother. We've all, at some point, claimed to be playing "an honest game," whether or not it was the truth. For some, playing a deceitful game under the guise of honesty was the whole point. When this season started, I imagined that this would be the kind of game I'd play. I envisioned myself making friends and backstabbing them at the drop of a hat, all for the sake of advancing myself to the finals. And I pictured myself sitting here, in the final two, telling you to vote for the more devious, cut-throat player because that's what Big Brother is all about. As the game progressed, however, I realized that this strategy is, ultimately, the easy way out. It's a sloppy strategy that requires more luck than gameplay, and more risk than reward. I didn't want to rely on luck and I didn't want to take risks that would yield only negative results. Instead, I played a thoroughly calculated game, evaluating the scope of every single decision before I made it. Sometimes, that meant making myself appear weak or susceptible to suggestion. Other times, I needed to work harder to establish myself as a competitive threat or a bigger target. At each stage in the game, I took stock of my position in the house - and the positions of each other housguest - before deciding on a plan of action.
I was in two core alliances at the start of the game: G-Force (with Jun and Porsche) and Cougar Power (with Renny and Karen). Eventually, these two alliances merged into the Zombie Slayers, with Karen being replaced by Sarah. And as Karen became less of a prominent player, I threw all my weight into the Zombie Slayer alliance with a particular emphasis on my relationship with Renny. I knew that the dynamics of this alliance, while mostly united, was always somewhat unstable. A major component of my strategy was fostering a sense of team unity that was essential to making it to the end. No matter what, I always emphasized making the best decisions for the alliance. When Jun began to stray and tried to convince me to turn on the Slayers, I was actually somewhat tempted. But ultimately, I decided to tell the girls everything. Similarly, when Dustin encouraged me to use the Power of Veto on him and backdoor Porsche, I was also tempted. But, again, I decided to relay every detail. I did this for the sake of getting the Slayers to the end, but ultimately, I was working to get myself to the end. My strategy was to be perceived as the most loyal, honest, and genuine player in the game. I knew that some of the Slayers had forged strong bonds with each other (many stronger than my own bonds) and I had to counter these relationships by presenting myself as the most reliable ally available. And, if my sitting here in the final two is any indication, I believe I was successful.
The interesting thing is that I can say, with a fair amount of conviction, that I've played a largely honest game (as honest as possible in a game like Big Brother). I never fabricated rumours about other players (even when I knew they were fabricating rumours about me), I kept my blatant lies to a minimum, and I was absolutely genuine in my relationships with you. Obviously, the only instance in which this doesn't hold true is Sarah's eviction, which was the hardest decision that I made all season and was purely strategic. My reasoning behind evicting Sarah was to ensure that Renny and I were in the finals (assuming that one of us would have won the final HoH). I feared that Porsche had a stronger competitive influence over Sarah than I did, and I didn't want Sarah (the strongest competitor aside from Renny and myself) in the final four if I couldn't guarantee my own safety. Like I said, that was a really difficult decision that I felt very guilty about, but it was the smartest strategic decision at the time. With the exception of that week, I genuinely believe I played a thoroughly well-rounded game that incorporated astute strategy, dominance at competitions (all skill-based, I should point out), and as much honesty as was reasonably allowed. There is something to be said about playing a strong social, competitive, and strategic game, and I think it's even more noteworthy that I was able to do this with a relatively high level of integrity and honesty. To make it to the end while cutting throats along the way is one thing; to make it to the end with sound strategy and as little deceit as possible is another.
Like I said, my answers will be no-holds-barred and I hope that your questions are too. I'm prepared to show you that I played the strongest game - specifically because it was fundamentally well-rounded and comprehensive - and that I deserve to win this season of Big Brother Recycled. I came into this with an extremely limited knowledge of the format of online games, and I had no pre-game friends or relationships. I worked extremely hard, every step of the way, to get myself to the end of this game. I take nothing away from Porsche, who played a strong social game, but my hard work and multi-faceted approach to this entire season make me deserving of your votes, and of ultimately being this season's winner.