Erik's Final Words

length: 5:09

Soon after having his torch extinguished, Erik gives his final words. How does he feel about being ousted from the tribe?

Video:

Transcript by James Barber:

"Well, I'm a little bummed out. I had a really hard day. I didn't do well in the challenge this morning, the immunity challenge. I was more or less last place in a challenge I thought I could have very well won. I got off to a bad start in it. I was already feeling faint, haven't had much food today. Today was a hard day. I knew I was on my last leg unless something happened. I wanted to go all the way to the top in this game, but unfortunately today was my day to be voted out. I think I could always look back and say I could have done this differently, I could have done that, but I feel like I've put it all out in this jungle. I'm mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted. I think I could have lasted another week, I could have made it last, but it wasn't in my cards. I did my best, I really did. This has been one of the most amazing experiences in my life. I made it 33 days in the wilderness. I'm really proud of myself. I would have loved to have gone all the way, but I made it to the last week of this game." 

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"The five remaining contestants are gonna battle it out, and I'm curious as to see who will come out on top. It's gonna be a battle for sure.I have no idea what's gonna happen." 

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"I'm never gonna forget this experience. It's one of the hardest things I've ever done, but I've perservered as best I knew how. I've tried to remain true to myself and to others while still playing the game the best I coul. At the end of the day, somebody's gotta go home, and it was me this time. Sixth place is not bad. I was going against some smart people. Really strong and interesting personalities. The way things fell, it was me tonight." 

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"Man, coming into this game I was honestly really worried. I've done camping and hiking and stuff like that, but this is a whole new level. I didn't know if I could handle being in the wilderness and having very little food. The food especially was like unfathomable to me to not have as much to eat as I want. I eat a lot and I've lost at least 15 pounds, maybe 20 pounds. I've learned to do things I thought were maybe not possible." 

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"I've tended to be a cynical, skeptical person in the past. I think this game is really gonna affect my mentality in life. It's really gonna make me more ambitious. As cliche as it is, anything is possible. You can do anything. If you believe it, you can do it. I don't think I would have said that before I came on this show. I would have been like, 'You might do OK, but there's probably a good chance you won't succeed.' I came in with that skeptic nature. Now I'm much more optimistic and I will definitely say that I will not take my family, my friends, food, comfortable bed, and air conditioning for granted as much has I have, cause it's always been available. Not having any of that the last 33 days has been a stretch. I'm excited to get back to all those things. I'm gonna embrace them with all I have, especially my family. Seeing my mom a couple days ago was so uplifting and made me realize how much I love her and my dad and how much they love me. It's not every day you have moments that truly show you that you can say it and you can sort of feel it, but when you have those moments where you really believe it. When I had tears coming to my eyes, it was like there's no denying it, it was real. I wanna go back to America with a new lease on life, and I just wanna enjoy the things I have, cause I've really been blessed my entire life. Hopefully I can give back some point as well, and it will make the world a better place."