The Finale discussion.

[Host Kyle]

Holidays ends here...

Talk amongst yourselves!

[Tuck]

Both Chris and Jojo have made me proud. You guys are awesome and I miss you both greatly!!!

[Taylor]

WAHOOO, Way to go JoJo.

As I offically close this chapter of my life I guess I just want to say thanks to everyone and post what I sent back to Karen after her e-mail.


My personal experience has been one of ups and downs. Survivor really is a roller-coaster and Holidays has shown me that. I have great memories of battling it out with some of the most intellegent people on the PLANET, and to have done so well in two of these games is quite an honor to me, personally. Although, I have never been the most loved contestant of the series, I look back on my experience in a favorable light. Though playing this game I have learned so much about myself, and about those around me. These people( while maybe not the most moral) are very kind, decent, and loving human beings.

Seeing yourself act the way you do act opens your eyes to the type of person you are, and I must say even if no one else likes me or respects me,holidays has taught me that I like who I am. For that I am ever greatful. To Kyle, Beth, Chris, Jenne, JoJo, Missie, Isaac, Elisabeth, Jake and even Tenzil I am thankful for the impacts you have all made on my life, and my relationships with each of you has let me and in some cases made me grow. I will never forget you nine, and I will probably never forget anyone who played in all-stars or Valentine's Day. You all are worth so much to me, and I look forward to talking with you in the future, hopefully. Thanks to everyone whose read this series and to my one or two fans. This has really meant a great deal to me, and it has been an amazing adventure, hasn't it?

Also I want to say to Jenne that what I said in my final TC speech wasn't true then and it's not true now, I was just reacting overly emotional ( surprise, surprise!) and I truly regret what I said. I know you are not reading this probably, but I needed apologize for that. At times during the last 3 and somewhat years you have been my best friend, and I know that it is somewhat sad, but I still feel closer to you( even though you probably feel like you don't know me) then a lot of people I know in my own life. There are not many people I can talk to for 3 hours straight and not run of things to say. So I'm very very sorry for statement.

Thanks everyone,
Taylor.

[Jamie]

Well done, indeed! (And I was totally touched by the Torch walk <3 JoJo, and Jake, thanks for the kind words!) You should be totally proud, JoJo!

[Drew]

Jojo, you know I love you, and I congratulate you with all my heart. Chris, you played an amazing game, and I thought you had it. I was also very pleasantly surprised by the torch walk, thanks for the kind words everyone. This game has been a blast, and unlike most people, I'd do it again in a heartbeat:)

[Jake]

Well, here goes. If you don't want to read a ridiculously long, wordy post...please skip this one.

This game was such a great ride. It's hard to believe it started taking shape already what...eight, nine months ago? Heck, two years ago and I was applying for Halloween. Holidays has been a part of my life for such a long time - I feel like I've grown up with Holidays and the people involved with it. Yeah, I'm still only fifteen, but from thirteen to fifteen is still a heck of a lot of learning and growing and new experiences in life.

Was it fun? Heck yeah. I don't think I ever would have said during one of the games (particularly All-Star) "I'm having FUN, Karen!" but...maybe it's a different kind of fun. It's competition, it's the excitement of getting further and further into the game and thinking that it's possible to win the thing. It's just the adrenaline rush. Was it fun to vote out Drew three times? Okay, maybe the second was fun, but otherwise no. Was it fun to vote out Lizzie or get pummeled in like Every. Single. Friggin. Challenge in All-Star? No. But it was awesome nonetheless.

Am I happy with how I did? Um, yeahhh. I got ninth when I could have been 15th in St. Patrick's Day. I won Halloween I never thought I could (and 7-0 at that). I took third in All-Star which was much less than I wanted but way more than I expected. Although, with All-Star, throughout the whole game I thought and said things like "As long as I'm there with Chris and JoJo" and "If either of them win, I'm fine with it" but the thing is, I really wanted to do it again. I really really wanted to come in as a previous winner, with a target on my back and do it again. And gosh darn it, I almost did. I almost won. I was just a few good guesses away from taking that challenge, voting out JoJo, and having a pretty darn good shot against Chris in the final two. Maybe not a great shot - I'd managed to turn the jury against me by the end - but a decent shot.

Could I have won? Eh, watching the final four episode, I really did realize that I made a huge error strategically by not voting out JoJo. If I had been -set- on winning the game, I would have blindsided everyone by voting JoJo out, and if Elisabeth held her promise (and I have no reason to believe she wouldn't) I would have a 2 in 3 chance of going to the final two with Lizzie, and again, a pretty darn good shot at winning. Why didn't I do that? Idealism. I had the idea of Chris/JoJo/Jake at the end from Day 1 and it was pretty much all I had thought about. I didn't want to disrupt my little world of perfection, and I just had too strong of a connection with JoJo to be able to do that. I should have just whack! - cut her off at the knees, but no, she's just too charming. :-)

Oh, by the way, congrats JoJo. You absolutely deserve the title of Sole Survivor more than anyone else in this game. You may not believe it yourself, but you are probably the best online Survivor player around - your record speaks for itself, and to be the best player, and the most genuine, caring, friendly person I have met online - you are amazing. ;D

And a shoutout to all those I've connected with throughout these three games - thank you for all the laughs, tears, and everything in between: especially Rafe, Chris, JoJo, Phill, Shaun, Isaac, Ashley, Drew, Lizzie, Taylor, and Kyle. And heck, to all those who I really...didn't get along with, you made things interesting : Ryan, Tuck, Desiree, Gary, Missie, and anyone who hates me and I don't know about it.

And thank you ESPECIALLY to Karen, Rob, and Kyle, the most amazing hosts anyone could ask for - you made these games FUN and always kept me and everyoe else on our toes while still keeping things fair and balanced. I owe you a heck of a lot.

And...I guess that's all for me. It has been so great playing Holidays games...and I know I said this was my last one (evah!) but...maybe one day, I'll be bored, sitting at home, come across a game and I'll throw my hands up, say what the heck, and throw my hat in the ring. Heck, maybe Survivor will still be around when I'm 21, and I'll be the second Holidays alumni to make the real show. Maybe I won't. Whatever the case, I'm so grateful for what has gone on here at Survivor: Holidays, I miss it already, and I will definitely never forget it.

[Host Kyle]

Well...even though I had said I was finished posting, writing that last episode did get me a little sentimental. On the one hand I was overwhelmed with relief. On the other, I was hit with a bit of nostalgia. And Jake's post...broke me.

I guess this game was a whole lot more than winning or losing, making it far or being a first boot. It was a learning experience. It was a test of people skills and team work. It was a lesson on patience and humility and agression when necessary. I saw this as a time for the weak to step up and put some flavor in their actions and for the strong to take a step back and observe for a bit.

I learned all those things.

I feel like Survivor Holidays is a legacy, and I won't forget anyone that I met on here. And to echo Jake, JoJo has to be one of the best online Survivor players of all time. The woman's got it...4 games placing three 1sts and one 3rd should speak for itself. So there is no better person to leave the Holidays legacy to.

Thinking back...there was so much drama to endure. But it makes for a pretty darn good read no matter what happened. And the winner of this game can not say she slipped right on through.

I think I came away from this game with so many I can call a friend, and that makes it all worth it. Thanks to Karen and Rob for creating this series.

If it wasn't for Holidays, Karen wouldn't be 4 miles away and in my real life circle of friends. You guys should be proud to know that Karen has found a place.

Thanks to everyone for making this a legacy.

[Host Kyle]

Oh...and I forgot to post Chris and JoJo's final words, so I will append those to the episode the first chance I get.

And for those of you that answered the email about your holidays experience...only Michelle, Tuck, Ryan (season 1), and Taylor replied. I thought it kind of lopsided to include those out of such a little response.

However if you would like to see what they said, let me know and I'll post them.

[Drew]

I sent mine in... but oh well:)

[Tuck]

I would like to see what the others had to say

[Host Karen]

I want to shout out a huge THANK YOU to everyone who played in the Survivor Holidays series. Now that it's all over and we can look back with nostalgic feelings, I am reminded of just how far we have all come since the beginning of the series, myself included. Whether you saw it or not, I grew a lot with this game as well. I learned things about myself in the way of patience, leadership, and friendship. Getting to know all of you over the years with your own strengths and weaknesses has taught me to understand and appreciate the differences we all have and how to get past them for the good of peace and unity.

A special thank you to Rob for all you did to help in the first 4 seasons. I know that we have had our differences of late and I sincerely apologize for any misunderstanding there was on my part. I own that I was not as sensitive as I should have been. But you are a great guy and I could not have done this game without you. My sincerest thanks.

Another special thank you to Kyle for stepping in and helping out at a point when I was at my lowest. If it hadn't been for you, this game would not have finished and I would have felt guilty for letting so many people down. And thank you for being such a great friend.

This Holidays series has taken its course and we've all gleaned whatever it was we were meant to glean from it. I know I would most likely not be where I am today had it not been for Holidays...heck, I even moved to a place I would likely have never gone had it not been for Holidays. And wherever each of you ended up, either physically or emotionally, I'm so glad that most of you had a great time of fun in the process. I have hung up my hosting hat...whether permanently or temporarily, I'm not sure yet. We'll just have to see what the future holds. I wish you all the best in your future gaming experiences. There are a select few that I will keep in touch with, but to everyone I wish you all the best in life. Thanks for the ride!

[JoJo]

Thanks for your kind words everyone. The results of this game are so wild, I've fluctuated between "Chris really won" because of Lizzie's interesting vote and Ashley's non vote; to "I'm proud of the win and its what Chris helped me to achieve all along" to the full circle of what I felt going into the last Tribal Council which is that Chris and I won together.

Jake is right, he should have voted me off.

I appreciated my experiences with the Holidays Series. If I didn't make this pretty clear before, I really missed Rob's involvement in All Stars.

Thanks for finishing the episodes Kyle, and thanks Karen for posting Chris and my final words.