User blog comment:Coolio15/Survivor Collab Season Five Applications! (Closed)/@comment-26365443-20151221180106

Name: Laurel Carlow (41)'''  Tribe Designation: '''TBD

Current Residence: Amherst, MA

Occupation: Women's Studies Professor

Personal Claim to Fame: Being hired to teach at the same college where I myself studied. College was such a big time in my life and it left a huge positive impact on me. It's an honor to teach and I'm thankful for the opportunity to leave the same impact on other kids' lives.

Inspiration in Life: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Her books and lectures have brought subjects such as the Nigerian Civil War, immigrants' experiences in America and feminism to the public's eye and she's offered a fresh new perspective on them.

Hobbies: Poetry, both reading and writing, as well cooking and jogging.

Pet Peeves: People who refuse to change their mind even after being proven wrong. There's stubborness, but this reaches the next level. Also xenophobes generally aren't people I'd like to hang out with.

SURVIVOR Contestant You Are Most Like: Dawn Meehan. We're both professors and we're both strong women with many of the same tastes. I also really admire the fact that she's adopted her six children. That takes strength and shows caring.

Reason for Being on SURVIVOR: ​Besides the fact that it's "the adventure of a lifetime"? I want to step out of my bubble. For a long time I feel my world has been my husband, my job and I. I want to experience the world and break out of my comfort me.

Why You Think You’ll “Survive” SURVIVOR: I like to think that I'm a mentally strong person. I don't break down when it comes to things not going my way. I'm not going to be the emotional older woman of the season. I can keep my head in an argument. It's not "survival" in an endurance sense but it's surviving among group dynamics.

Why You Think You Will Be the Sole SURVIVOR: I'm definitely the person everyone underestimates. I workout and can hold my own in challenges as well as form social bonds. I'm not going to be the person everyone brings to Final Tribal because they think they can beat me. I'm going to get there because I maneuvered myself there using the friends that I made on the island.