Survivor first aired in 2000 but it wasn’t until 2022 when it gained its biggest fan.

A year ago, my wife and I began blazing through the seasons.

We devoured them like sour gummy worms on a road trip.

Day after day we talked strategy, made bets as to who would win, and yelled at the screen like we had any control over what happened.

For months all I thought about was Survivor.

Around the time we began watching Survivor I received an email from a Pastor in Pennsylvania.
He invited me to speak at a camp for middle and high school students the following summer.

The camp is located 2 hours outside of Pittsburgh and all the guests sleep in tents.

I can’t remember the last time I slept in a tent.

On top of that, there has never been a time when I’ve wanted to sleep in a tent. 

I like sleeping inside an air conditioned room on a bed with multiple pillows.

But since we had been watching Survivor, I said yes.

In the back of my mind I thought it would be good practice for when I went on the show.

You cannot watch Survivor and not wonder what it would be like if you were on the show.

However, a few months after saying yes to speaking at the event we finished watching Survivor and I realized I would be a terrible contestant on the show. Why? Well, mostly because I hate conflict, easily get hurt, don’t like taking my shirt off (especially for national television), snakes, and don’t want to be away from my family for a month.

Again, I like sleeping inside an air conditioned room on a bed with multiple pillows.

But I had said yes to speaking at this camp and wasn’t about to back out.

Many of the speaking events I do happen over the course of a day, not a week.

I arrive, speak, and head out.

But this would be different.

This was 5 days and 4 nights in a tent at a camp I had never been to where I didn’t know anyone.

An introverted indoorsman's nightmare.

Nerves ate away at me as I flew to Pennsylvania.

I picked at my fingernails as I imagined the entire week in my head.

How all the students would ignore what I had to say. How I would be eaten by a bear or a family of rats. How I wouldn’t be welcomed or liked or respected.

How my tent would turn into a house for skunks and snakes.

How I would completely bomb the messages I had prepared.

My mind is great at offering the worst case scenario.

Sometimes I forget that God has called me into what I am doing.

And if He has called me into it, I have to believe He is going to lead me through it.

Even if that meant I had to sleep in a tent.

I wanted to back out.

I wanted to stay home in an air conditioned room on a bed with multiple pillows.

But there was no backing out.

As I made my way to camp I told myself time and time again to find a few good stories.

And I found them.

Stories of hope.
Stories of fear.
Stories of discovery.
Stories of redemption.
Stories of growth.

As the week began to wind down I was asked again and again if I would be writing about this trip.

Yes.

I certainly will be writing about this trip.

I have plenty of stories and discoveries and reflections to share.

Stay tuned.

Oh, and say yes to the thing that scares you.

You might just find a few good stories.

And you probably won’t be eaten by a bear.

Or a family of rats.

About the Author

Tanner Olson is an author, poet, speaker, and podcaster living in Nashville, Tennessee.

He is the author of I’m All Over the Place, As You Go, Walk A Little Slower, and Continue: Poems and Prayers of Hope.

You can find Tanner Olson’s books on Amazon.

His podcast is The Walk A Little Slower Podcast with Tanner Olson and can be found wherever you listen to podcasts.

Tanner Olson travels around the country sharing poetry, telling stories, and delivering messages of hope.

You can follow Tanner Olson on Instagram (@writtentospeak) and Facebook where you’ll daily find encouraging words of faith and hope.