User blog comment:Wcplays/Survivor: Aurora APPLICATION BLOG/@comment-32574574-20170829142301

Name: ​Neil Patterson

Age: 59

Hometown: Jacksonville, FL

Occupation: Former Criminal Prosecutor

Personality: Neil is someone who likes to be a provider, as he is the father of two children, and the grandfather of four. He loves to be outdoors and try new things, and he is open to making friends with anyone. Neil is usually a happy person to meet, and after retiring from law enforcement in 2010, he became an advocate for the NRA (National Rifle Association).

Backstory (sorry if this is too long for you): Neil was born on July 4, 1958 to a boxing promoter and a housewife. When he was only 1, his father, Alexander was killed in a plane crash that claimed the lives of 16 people. Neil is the youngest of two siblings, and his older sister Lori was born in 1951. Neil's sister was brutally murdered by a convicted child molester in 1965, and although the evidence was stacked against the murderer, he was acquitted. The murderer walked into court the day after he was found not guilty, and, under the protection of double jeopardy which prohibits the accused from being prosecuted twice for the same crime, fully confessed to kidnapping, raping, and murdering Lori Patterson. This infuriated Neil, who decided to take up law enforcement, and graduated from high school with a scholarship to Harvard University to study criminology. Graduating in 1973, he passed the bar exam that he needed to take to become a legal representative. He worked to preside over Florida murders for over 35 years, and became one of the most respected in the field. Neil has been an advocate for the death penalty, and has seen several rapists and murderers he has prosecuted be executed within a span of 20 years. Neil says that he feels no remorse for any of the murderers he tries, since none of the killers killed in self defense or out of revenge. Neil married Caroline Jones in 1982 and had two children, Neil Jr. (born 1985) and Maya (born 1989). Neil also payed close attention to several murders outside of Florida, such as James Byrd Jr., the victim of a racial hate crime in 1998, and Christopher Barrios Jr., who was brutally murdered in 2007 by a family of sex offenders. Neil retired in Autumn 2010, after spending 35 years in the criminal field, and has since been an activist for several causes such as the National Rifle Association and stricter laws for child molesters. He has four grandchildren. Neil III (born 2005), Annie (born 2008), and twins from Maya, January (born June 17, 2009) and Paris (born June 17, 2009). Neil is a registered Republican.

Player Type: Neil claims to be a mix of all three "player types", as he has had to interview serial killers and the criminally insane in order to get answers for a specific crime. He is physically able to handle the challenges as he goes to his local gym three times a week, and placed #1 in the over-55 marathon in Jacksonville in 2016. Socially, he plans to work hard around camp to help his tribe, but doesn't plan on enforcing rules around his tribe, and won't ask his tribe to do much around camp aside from occasionally helping with retrieving firewood.

Strategy: Neil knows he will probably be one of the older contestants, and expects to be targeted for his age. It is for that reason that he plans to socialize with everyone, and he will also have a strong work ethic to make his tribe comfortable enough to keep him around. Neil claims that his biggest weakness would be the boiling water he'd drink, as he is used to cold beverages.

Visitor: He originally said that his mother would be his initial visitor, but she was diagnosed with dementia in 2008. His visitor would probably be his son, '''​Neil Patterson Jr. '''​as he believes that the loved ones challenge would require physical strength, and Neil believes his son would be stronger than his wife, thus making it more likely for him to win the loved ones challenge.

Confessional: "I'm 59 years old, and I have the physical capabilities of a 29 year old. I've worked on houses when I was young with my friends, and I was also a former Boy Scout in my teens. I always say this, 'technology changed a lot in the last 40 years, but Mother Nature hasn't' I'm going to be working extremely hard to make my tribe comfortable, but I'm in no way going to force them to do more than they want to. I believe I can be a physical asset despite my age, and I want to let people think I'm this old, fuddy-duddy, that's not a threat. At the end of the day, I think my tribemates will like and respect me for my gameplay, physical ability, and social adaptation."