Episode 8

[Julia Sokolowski]

Of course sitting out the last challenge was a dumb decision on my part. I actually wanted to play because I knew I probably wasn't gonna have time for the next challenge and voila here we are. I thought the merge was gonna happen, but I was 100% wrong and now there are only 4 people on our tribe able to do this challenge and I'm one of them.

Dorothy and Ian jumped on the bandwagon to participate so the last spot was between me and Kathy. Kathy has literally been a no-show this entire season if you ask me and says she will participate and then doesn't show up. Unfortunately, I'm leaving for college in like 2 days and spending my last moments with family. So I was content with letting Kathy take the heat on this one.

HOWEVER, then I remembered exile. There are only THREE people competing in this challenge which means there is a 33% chance that I would go to exile if I participated. That is probably the best odds I will have all game. PLUS then I get to meet someone on the other tribe and hopefully make a bond with them. At this point, going to exile doesn't even make you a threat because so many people have gone. Now is the perfect time to go.

The only issue is that I am super busy and if it's an edurance challenge, I'd probably do just as bad as Kathy the inactive would. The thing is, in most of the individual challenges thus far, the person who has gone to exile has usually been the person with the best score/time/etc in their respective heat. This makes me think whoever does the best out of my tribe members on this challenge will go to exile (aka the longest in an endurance challenge).

We are getting down to the wire in this game and I have yet to do anything of significance. Who the heck would vote for me in the final 3? It's time to start building up some legitimate reputation so I am going to take a risk, hoping I don't suck up an endurance challenge because I'm too busy, and go to exile and find that idol. Finding an idol would give me power to make me a threat to win this game. My social game has been fairly on-point this season, but my physical game hasn't been anything special yet (gotta save that for the merge 😉), and my strategic game hasn't been flashy at all.

The best scenario is actually that our tribe loses and I go to exile. The jury has already started...and I have yet to meet 3 of the people on the jury because they're all stuck on the other tribe. If the other tribe loses, one, possibly two, of the jury members I will have never met. Whereas if our tribe loses, I will have a chance to meet the other tribe's members at the merge and I will hopefully be in exile safe from being voted out. I also feel as though I have a secure spot on my tribe. This is the best case scenario, but simply put, I need to go to exile. The only way to do that is to play so I am gonna try to do my best at this challenge.

Wish me luck :*

[Julia Sokolowski]

And this is not working out how I planned. I took a risk and it backfired. Dorothy is a beast at endurance comps apparently. What isn't she a beast at to be honest? She's has one of the best social games this season. She is amazingly physical at Challenges. AND she has carefully and strategically placed herself within a firm, secure alliance. It seems she has it all.

Not if her #1 ally can help it. After seeing that there's no way I can win this challenge and go to exile without losing my dignity in real life because Dorothy is so dang persistent, I've decided to stop trying.

If I have any say at all, I personally want our tribe to lose. WINNING IS ABSOLUTELY BORING! I'm shooting myself in the foot so much, but something needs to happen and apparently it's not gonna happen naturally.

Now I'm not saying I'm gonna throw this challenge. No, throwing this challenge would be not finishing and getting a 0 as my score and putting a massive target on my back. So I'm doing the next best thing: going back down the mountain earlier than I anticipated. Don't get me wrong, I will have traversed this terrain for a grand total of 6 hours, but I had originally planned to be out there for at least 10 so this is a downgrade.

I know that Cody and Natalie are going FAR in this challenge. If only Jasmine can pick it up. Unfortunately, I'm afraid we'll win because of Dorothy and Ian's persistence. This is the true test of NuAmsterdam's drive to succeed. I'm throwing them a bone. Let's see if they take it.

Hopefully they can win it. This is only beneficial to me long-term. Yes, I will have to go to tribal, but as my alliance members know, I have the excuse "oh I have to pack for college I did the best I could." They should eat it right up and I should be sitting pretty come tribal. Damn I sound cocky, but confidance is key.

Anyways, Kathy and Jaclyn would likely be the two people voted out of this tribe. Personally, I would prefer Kathy and Dustin, but we will see what happens. The merge will likely come next which will allow me to meet the members of the other tribe before they are sent to jury. This is a risk assuming that the merge is next, but I'm taking it because I need to actually talk to jury members before they go to jury if I want a better chance at getting their vote.

This is all on the NuAmsterdam tribe though. It can only work if they work their butts off. I did my part, now it's their turn. 182 steps up the mountain is peasant's work. That is an easy time to beat. Hopefully they do it.

If we do lose, the reason I want Dustin out is because he has been very inactive recently. This is good because me and him used to have a really good close connection. The fact that he isn't active anymore means he likely hasnt been talking to others that much either. If he was voted out, I would likely be one of the people he was closest to before he left. I doubt he'd feel bitter since it's his own fault that he's not active anymore.

In addition, I personally 100% want Kathy in this game from this stage forward. She is extremely inactive. She would be the perfect goat. She hasn't done anything. Unfortunately, I don't want to stir the pot too much and turn my alliance against me this soon.

Dorothy will likely be going to exile and hopefully she will let me in on what she finds. At this point, I'm giving up on exile. So many people have gone that the idol has to be gone by now. I'm hoping there will be a merge idol; maybe at the auction.

Lastly, Dorothy may be my #1 ally, but she is also my #1 threat. She has ammo in terms of her loyal followers the more I think about it. She has Burnie, Carrie, me, Ian, and even Tim. I know there's no turning Burnie against her so I'm gonna have to put major work into turning the tides at some point in this game. A storm is brewing. Julia Sokolowski is finally here to play.

The worst part is I'll have to keep working with her to take out the NuAmsterdam tribe because if any of them make it to the end, they will likely win because of all the odds they've had to overcome and whatnot.

As of now, my ideal Final 3 would consist of myself, Carrie, and Kathy. Because there is no way Kathy is staying if we lose, my next best option would be Dustin. Because he is inactive and will possibly be evicted from the game, my next best option would be Jaclyn.