I have been selected to participate in a survival reality show next week. I am very nervous but also very excited. I have all of the materials that I am going to bring ready and my backpack is ready too. I still have a week but there is a lot of anticipation. The age you have to be to get entered in the drawing is 18. They randomly selected two people not knowing anything about them and are going to put them onto the island. I was very surprised when I was selected because there are about 500 or 600 people that enter every year. My entry said:
Emily E. White
Age 18
On the back it said my email and phone number. I turned 18 last week. I will be most likely the younger of the two and I am not sure if that is a good or a bad thing. In a good perspective, the other person could be much older and not in as good shape, or they could have more knowledge about survival and so they will last on the island longer. Either way, I am excited for a different experience than I have ever had before.
I am going to bring a two gallon, heavy duty water bottle, water purifier, matches, knife, first aid kit, food, tent, flashlight, sleeping bag, bow and arrows. I am bringing the water bottle full of water but I will bring the water purifier so that I can refill it with clean water as needed. I am bringing the matches to make a fire to cook the meat I get. I will use the knife to prepare the meat and defend myself if needed. The first aid kit is a big one because it will have disinfectant in it in case I get a cut and then it won’t get infected. Food is an obvious necessity. A tent will keep me out of the rain, away from bugs, and somewhere to sleep at night. My sleeping bag is a necessity I think because at night the temperature is dropping to below 50 degrees which is cold for not having a sleeping bag. My flashlight is going to be used for obvious reasons. The bow and arrows will be used to hunt. I think that I have everything I need to survive for quite a while on a deserted island.
My mom is very emotional about me going on this excursion and my dad has just been watching a ton of survival shows over the past week and giving me a bunch of tips. He is worried about me doing this, I can tell and mom is even worse. I am 63% nervous and 37% excited. I decided this last night while I was lying in bed awake thinking about it. We are going to have a radio with us that we can use to call the control center if we feel like we are going to starve or are really hurt to forfeit and automatically lose. I am hoping I don’t have to use the radio but I am really quite inexperienced the more I think about it.
“Bye, honey! We will miss you, good luck!” I can tell mom and dad are trying to hold back all of their feelings right now because mom is barely talking and dad is just reminding me of all the stuff he learned and won’t stop talking. Meanwhile I have a ton of thoughts racing through my head about how long is this going to last and what if I get really hurt and I can’t figure out how to cure it with my little first aid kit, if I get really hungry and feel like radioing, or anything like that. I give my dad a huge hug and tell him I love him and that yes I remember everything he told me about survival. I then side step to my mom and give her a huge hug and stay there for a minute. She whispers “I love you” in my ear and I say it back. I can tell by the way she is shaking a little bit that this is very scary for her to be sending her only daughter off to a deserted island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I can understand why. Its scary for me too. I pull away, say one last goodbye, and step onto the helicopter.
They are not allowed to go on the helicopter with me which is disappointing to them but I think it will give me some time alone to think before I am placed on the island. I look around at my compartment and my guide is in one of the two seats so I take the other one which is across from her. It looks like it is about a 10 by 10 foot compartment. Right next to my seat is a basket of food. My guide says, “eat whatever you want out of the basket but you can’t take any with you on the island.” I bite into a protein bar that looks pretty good and tell her thank you. She had been giving me tips and hints about the competition since I figured out I was going to be on the show and they have all been very helpful. She has been on the show before so she knows all about it. They pick a different island every year though so she doesn’t know what mine will be like. I settle in and get ready for the hour long ride.
When we are five minutes away the pilot gives me and the other contestant a warning. I haven’t been able to set my eyes on this person yet, which is making me antsy. He/she is on the other side of the divider. We aren’t even going to be able to see each other unless we come into view on the island. I have a seat belt on and my backpack is at my feet. I went through it at least 12 times before I left the house this morning so I am positive that I have everything. We hit the ground and the other contestant gets out of the helicopter. I am getting placed on the other side of the island, so we have to get back in the air to get there. When we land where I am getting out my heart I think is beating as fast as it has ever been beating. I give my guide, Alisha a hug and tell her “thank you so much for everything you have taught me.”
She responds, “you’re welcome. You will do great. Every little thing I told you is important so try to remember as much as you can. The most important part is to stay positive.” I pull away from the hug, say one last thank you and goodbye, and turn to the open door. I get off, someone who’s name is Laurie says good luck to me and gets back into the helicopter. The helicopter immediately starts rising into the air again and I watch until it is out of sight. I am officially alone on a deserted island.
I look around and see that pretty much the whole island is covered in trees. I start walking in a direction hoping to find a fresh water source and to just scout things out. Behind me is the ocean and in front of me is trees and the ground looks like there are fallen pine needles and sticks. Since there are pine needles, the ground is pretty well packed down so that will be easier for walking, tenting, and staying quiet while hunting. I know that since I was dropped on the island second, I get the advantage of a few minutes less on the island but the other person gets the advantage of being able to get to know the island better. All in all, I don’t think the two-three minute time difference made an impact on either of us.
After a few minutes of walking, I find that everything pretty much looks the same. I want to keep the ocean within my sight. I am not sure why, I just think it is a good idea.
I hear something rustling in a bush to the side of me that is closer to the woods. I turn towards where I heard the noise and find the other competitor staring straight at me. She looks like she is about 25 years old, she is pretty tall, probably about 5’ 10” and has her dark brown hair in a french braid, just like mine. I know that we can’t make contact but I am still very scared of her. I am also kind of annoyed that we both picked to use a bow and arrows and have our hair the same way. The hair part shouldn’t affect me at all but somehow it does. We stand there staring at each other for a solid 15 seconds before she runs back into the woods. I know that she has noticed everything I have noticed about our similarity. The look that she gave me was the scariest part though. She had an evil smile with her teeth showing that were pure white. She had a backpack on her back with her bow and arrows hung over her back. I bet I am better at shooting than her. I have always been very good with a bow. Even at the camps that I used to go to when I was about 10 years old.
I have to stop thinking about my competition and start thinking about my survival.
Emily E. White
Age 18
On the back it said my email and phone number. I turned 18 last week. I will be most likely the younger of the two and I am not sure if that is a good or a bad thing. In a good perspective, the other person could be much older and not in as good shape, or they could have more knowledge about survival and so they will last on the island longer. Either way, I am excited for a different experience than I have ever had before.
I am going to bring a two gallon, heavy duty water bottle, water purifier, matches, knife, first aid kit, food, tent, flashlight, sleeping bag, bow and arrows. I am bringing the water bottle full of water but I will bring the water purifier so that I can refill it with clean water as needed. I am bringing the matches to make a fire to cook the meat I get. I will use the knife to prepare the meat and defend myself if needed. The first aid kit is a big one because it will have disinfectant in it in case I get a cut and then it won’t get infected. Food is an obvious necessity. A tent will keep me out of the rain, away from bugs, and somewhere to sleep at night. My sleeping bag is a necessity I think because at night the temperature is dropping to below 50 degrees which is cold for not having a sleeping bag. My flashlight is going to be used for obvious reasons. The bow and arrows will be used to hunt. I think that I have everything I need to survive for quite a while on a deserted island.
My mom is very emotional about me going on this excursion and my dad has just been watching a ton of survival shows over the past week and giving me a bunch of tips. He is worried about me doing this, I can tell and mom is even worse. I am 63% nervous and 37% excited. I decided this last night while I was lying in bed awake thinking about it. We are going to have a radio with us that we can use to call the control center if we feel like we are going to starve or are really hurt to forfeit and automatically lose. I am hoping I don’t have to use the radio but I am really quite inexperienced the more I think about it.
“Bye, honey! We will miss you, good luck!” I can tell mom and dad are trying to hold back all of their feelings right now because mom is barely talking and dad is just reminding me of all the stuff he learned and won’t stop talking. Meanwhile I have a ton of thoughts racing through my head about how long is this going to last and what if I get really hurt and I can’t figure out how to cure it with my little first aid kit, if I get really hungry and feel like radioing, or anything like that. I give my dad a huge hug and tell him I love him and that yes I remember everything he told me about survival. I then side step to my mom and give her a huge hug and stay there for a minute. She whispers “I love you” in my ear and I say it back. I can tell by the way she is shaking a little bit that this is very scary for her to be sending her only daughter off to a deserted island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I can understand why. Its scary for me too. I pull away, say one last goodbye, and step onto the helicopter.
They are not allowed to go on the helicopter with me which is disappointing to them but I think it will give me some time alone to think before I am placed on the island. I look around at my compartment and my guide is in one of the two seats so I take the other one which is across from her. It looks like it is about a 10 by 10 foot compartment. Right next to my seat is a basket of food. My guide says, “eat whatever you want out of the basket but you can’t take any with you on the island.” I bite into a protein bar that looks pretty good and tell her thank you. She had been giving me tips and hints about the competition since I figured out I was going to be on the show and they have all been very helpful. She has been on the show before so she knows all about it. They pick a different island every year though so she doesn’t know what mine will be like. I settle in and get ready for the hour long ride.
When we are five minutes away the pilot gives me and the other contestant a warning. I haven’t been able to set my eyes on this person yet, which is making me antsy. He/she is on the other side of the divider. We aren’t even going to be able to see each other unless we come into view on the island. I have a seat belt on and my backpack is at my feet. I went through it at least 12 times before I left the house this morning so I am positive that I have everything. We hit the ground and the other contestant gets out of the helicopter. I am getting placed on the other side of the island, so we have to get back in the air to get there. When we land where I am getting out my heart I think is beating as fast as it has ever been beating. I give my guide, Alisha a hug and tell her “thank you so much for everything you have taught me.”
She responds, “you’re welcome. You will do great. Every little thing I told you is important so try to remember as much as you can. The most important part is to stay positive.” I pull away from the hug, say one last thank you and goodbye, and turn to the open door. I get off, someone who’s name is Laurie says good luck to me and gets back into the helicopter. The helicopter immediately starts rising into the air again and I watch until it is out of sight. I am officially alone on a deserted island.
I look around and see that pretty much the whole island is covered in trees. I start walking in a direction hoping to find a fresh water source and to just scout things out. Behind me is the ocean and in front of me is trees and the ground looks like there are fallen pine needles and sticks. Since there are pine needles, the ground is pretty well packed down so that will be easier for walking, tenting, and staying quiet while hunting. I know that since I was dropped on the island second, I get the advantage of a few minutes less on the island but the other person gets the advantage of being able to get to know the island better. All in all, I don’t think the two-three minute time difference made an impact on either of us.
After a few minutes of walking, I find that everything pretty much looks the same. I want to keep the ocean within my sight. I am not sure why, I just think it is a good idea.
I hear something rustling in a bush to the side of me that is closer to the woods. I turn towards where I heard the noise and find the other competitor staring straight at me. She looks like she is about 25 years old, she is pretty tall, probably about 5’ 10” and has her dark brown hair in a french braid, just like mine. I know that we can’t make contact but I am still very scared of her. I am also kind of annoyed that we both picked to use a bow and arrows and have our hair the same way. The hair part shouldn’t affect me at all but somehow it does. We stand there staring at each other for a solid 15 seconds before she runs back into the woods. I know that she has noticed everything I have noticed about our similarity. The look that she gave me was the scariest part though. She had an evil smile with her teeth showing that were pure white. She had a backpack on her back with her bow and arrows hung over her back. I bet I am better at shooting than her. I have always been very good with a bow. Even at the camps that I used to go to when I was about 10 years old.
I have to stop thinking about my competition and start thinking about my survival.
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