By: Melisa Giovani

Yep, you're right. I'm actually referring to the reality show that airs every Thursday night on CBS. For those of you who don't know what Survivor is, it's the first reality show that an American TV station ever introduced to viewers and it debuted in 2000. The concepts are pretty simple: leave 20 people in an isolated island, separate them into 2 tribes, and give them challenges to determine who should be eliminated next. (voting is done by the members of the losing team) By the end of the show, the last 'Robinson Crusoe'  would win 1 million bucks. I only started watching this series again at the beginning of this year, 7 years after I missed many seasons in between. And shame on me to say this, but I do learn a lot of things from this show:

Lesson #1: You have to know when to act right

You can't be this overachiever who doesn't listen to others and thinks that your way is the most perfect one. Granted, (especially during this season in which the show actually involved the 'Favorites'; participants revived from previous seasons who have past experiences about the game) you may have the most logical solution. But do take sometime to listen to others. Ozzy, the most athletic and smartest guy in the show, was voted off last week because everybody felt that he's a huge threat since he played the leadership card all the time. The rewards of acting right at appropriate time are priceless: good relationship with people and less possibility of betrayals.

Lesson #2: You can't trust everybody

There's this challenge last week in which the person who could withstand being tied to a bucket of water above him or her the longest would not be eliminated that week. 5 hours later, only Parvatti and Jason remained in the challenge. Jason was exhausted and ready to quit. He asked for everybody's assurance whether he would not be voted off should he decide to give up. Majority of the players gave him their words, but guess what? Some of them actually crossed their fingers discreetly while saying that they wouldn't vote him out.

I have nothing against Jason. He's a team player and he never tries to manipulate others into his way. But he's gullible enough to trust everybody's judgment after 7 tumultuous weeks of manipulation and distrusts! He didn't win the challenge; Parvatti did, after relying on everybody's supposedly 'good faith of words'. The good news was that Ozzy received 1 more elimination vote than him, thus saving him from going home.

Lesson learned: trust your instinct, don't trust everybody too much.

Lesson #3: Beauty does gets you somewhere further than everybody else

I am sure all feminists have something to say against this statement of mine, but hey...let's face it, this statement does make sense. Parvatti was able to get James' attention and support just because she's good looking. (James is this strong, self-sufficient guy whom you may want to rely on in case of any emergency) Even a research has proven that attractive people get things out of their ways easier. What should we do then? It is a good thing that America is an egalitarian society that appreciates everybody's hard work. Do your best at work and you shall be rewarded. How about those more attractive people? Well...life's unfair. Don't let others' comparative advantage get in your away. Stride in confidence and don't be negative!

Lesson #4: Be self-sufficient!

This is the hidden message behind the concept of the game. The contestants eat raw fish, drink from the sea, make tools out of coconut trees, and haven't taken good shower for days. I'm sure when they become alums of this show, they won't want to get back to this 'Robinson Crusoe' lifestyle. But if they ever encounter this same situation again, they will definitely do fine. I want to be like that. That's why I prefer to take the harder options of any two choices. It's not going to be a fine and dandy road ahead, but the trade-offs are my characters will shaped and my endurance will be stretched. Self-sufficiency is the key to having an adventurous, yet fulfilling life!

Oops...I am becoming more and more like those self-help 'experts', but the key note is that even reality show does help you learn new things!