To Race Amazingly or Not To Race Amazingly, That is the Question

The new season of The Amazing Race started this week, and while I might have something to say about that later, I'm really more concerned about The Amazing Race 8. You see, they're changing the rules so that instead of teams of two, there will be teams of four, meaning families can sign up. My parents and my brother are huge TAR fans--in fact, it's the only show we all watch together as a family--and this piqued our interest. My dad looked up the rules and it turns out that the minimum age is only eight, meaning my brother could come too.

However, I have several concerns about this. The thing is, I don't really get along very well with my family. I don't particularly enjoy their company, and running TAR would mean that I would be spending twenty-four hours a day with them for the better part of a month or two. In addition, in my non-family life, I generally stay away from people I don't like, and so I'm generally surrounded by agreeable people. As such, I am more agreeable myself. In fact, I'm a rather different person when my family is not around, and I've come to think of that person as the genuine me. (Actually, that's a major reason no one in my family knows about this website). I like the "Genuine BanjoSteve" a lot better than "Family BanjoSteve", and I think America would too. Family BanjoSteve is sullen, aloof, short-tempered, and prickly. Genuine BanjoSteve is kind, charming, gregarious, and witty. I would much rather show America Genuine BanjoSteve than Family BanjoSteve; I don't want to be the next Jonathan Baker. In addition, my father and brother both have a tendency to say nasty things to me at the expense of others solely to amuse themselves. They also know where my buttons are, and knows how to push them, and I wouldn't put it past them to push them repeatedly, especially in a high-stress environment and on national TV. So even though now is probably the best time in my life to go on the Amazing Race, I don't think it's something I should do. So I guess there are things I wouldn't do for a million dollars.