Living life Survivor-style
- posted: 11 Dec. 2007
- scrollopinion@byui.edu
With graduation sneaking up on me in just a few days, this has been a week of many lasts: last meal in the Galley, last Scroll editors meeting, last devotional (which I unfortunately missed), and last Sunday in a BYU-Idaho student ward. Now, I sit here at my computer and attempt to write my last column for you, the faithful readers of the Scroll — a daunting task indeed.
My roommate pointed out to me that these lasts often fall short of expectation (and that meal in the Galley certainly did), but I hope I shall not disappoint.
In English 450 we were asked to write a personal essay entitled “This I Believe.” I wrote down many ideas, including, “I believe in wearing yellow shoes,” and “I believe in skinny-dipping,” but at the end of my list, I was sure of one thing — I believe that life is a game of Survivor.
You see, I will readily admit that (almost) everything I know I learned from Survivor, and looking back, I see it was by applying a few simple tactics that I have made it to this point — the brink of graduation.
How else would I have survived living with 31 different roommates — each with a personality all her own — in the four years I have sojourned here in Rexburg?
For one thing, I learned to treat these roommates as I would my tribe-mates if I were stranded on an island competing for a million dollars. Almost every season of Survivor features at least one or two people who are unpleasant and, therefore, hard to watch and live with.
I have not been without my share of these in real life. But I know that if you want to make it far in the game, or preserve your sanity throughout the semester, you have to at least pretend to get along with roommates, even if they leave refried beans on the counter for days at a time.
On the other hand, you also need to know when to put your trust in people and form alliances. In just a few short months these girls or guys will become like your family and years afterward will still be among your closest friends. Luckily, you won’t actually be forced to vote against them in tribal council.
Remember that your time here is a game and you either win or you lose. A competitive spirit motivates you to keep the end product in mind, and it lessens the amount of slacking that you do, or at least enables you to stay up all night in order to get your homework done. Good grades (and the new knowledge that goes with them) are like immunity and allow you to move on to the next round.
Finally, treat everything like a Survivor challenge — try new things. Pushing yourself out of your comfort zone is good for you; for example, braving the Rexburg winters, which builds character.
So there you go — my last words of wisdom. Goodbye BYU-Idaho. The tribe has spoken. 
