Suck It Up and Survive

This was the first time I have ever watched Survivor, and I am already hooked. I wish I had gotten into the show in previous seasons. During the first episode of Survivor, the groups are introduced as couples, such as husband wife, father and son, mother and daughter and partners. They then give background information about themselves and the skills they have. After this, they were separated into two different tribes, Coyopa and Hunahpu. Each tribe then began the group development process. Once the first challenge began it had split a couple that were once together and now opponents pit against each other. The losing member was then sent to Exile Island with one other member from the winning tribe. They missed out on the opportunity to show the vital skills they are able to contribute to their tribe during the group development process. The husband and wife involved in the challenge had to compete for what is an overly important item in the game of Survivor: fire in the form of flint. Fire can be a large group development tool that can either make or break a tribe. As the losing tribe had learned the hard way, building a fire without flint is a challenge, the tribe split into two groups the younger ones and a single older man. As the young group attempted to build a fire together using great team work switching from each person to the other trying to make a single spark the older man then sacrificed his sight in the form of glasses to prove to his tribe he was a key contender and not just an older man to be pushed aside. This was a game changer in the later challenge, as this tribe lost they had to then go to tribal council where each tribe member casts a vote to strategically remove someone from their tribe. Whether the person lacked teamwork or was untrustworthy, there is always someone who must fall. This decision was to vote off one of the younger girls on the team who the older man had declared a backstabber due to her previous actions on a popular show, The Amazing Race. He earned the respect from his fellow tribe mates by building a connection and earning a proper mutual respect.