‘Odd to see yourself’ on reality TV show
Big Brother Canada champ hasn’t seen season
Not many people are willing to live under constant video surveillance.
But for a decent chunk of prize money and a unique once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate in a nationally televised social experiment-turned-reality show? This B.C. woman did — and she won.
Paras Atashnak, a 23-yearold law student from Port Coquitlam, is the latest player — and first B.C. competitor — to join the Big Brother Canada winners’ circle after winning Season 6 last month; Atashnak won the final head of household competition and snagged a 6-1 jury vote to take home a cool $100,000.
It was a 70-day slog living, eating, sleeping and competing under the same roof as 15 other people, all while competing in games and challenges filmed for TV. Since returning home a few weeks ago, Atashnak has been decompressing, contemplating what to do with her earnings and reminding herself that she doesn’t have to worry about cameras behind every reflective surface.
“I think you’re just in there so long, you get conditioned to the way things are,” she said, adding that she still stops herself from fiddling with necklaces, forgetting that she’s no longer wearing the microphone necklaces cast members were mandated to wear.
“It’s been taking some time but I’ll get there. I haven’t adjusted yet.”
And no, she hasn’t watched her entire season yet.
“I’ve watched one episode since — that was a couple of weeks ago. I just can’t do it yet,” Atashnak told Postmedia.
“I haven’t watched it yet because it’s odd to see yourself on TV for one and for two, I built really genuine connections with these people and I really like them. I’m afraid I’m going to watch and there’s going to be some things said that are going to make me change the way I view these people and I just don’t want that yet.”
But while there were some heated and antagonizing diary-room confessions, Atashnak said she has kept in touch with all her housemates. She recently welcomed Kaela Grant and Derek Kesseler, the season’s showmance, to Vancouver while the pair were in town sightseeing and has messaged frequently with Johnny Mulder and Maddy Poplett.
Other Big Brother Canada alumni have also been in touch with Atashnak, checking to make sure her return to the real world has been smooth.
“They fully understand what you went through,” she said of her housemates and the other winners.
Atashnak has been napping “all the time,” much to the confusion of her mom.
“She was like, ‘What’s up? Why are you so tired? You were just in the house having so much fun.’ And I’m like, ‘Girl! It is 70 days. It is not what it looks like,’ ” said Atashnak.
So what did her family think? While on the show, Atashnak often mentioned her parents and not wanting to disappoint them with her conduct in the house, which led fans to wonder about whether they approved of her participation on the reality television show.
“They did watch the show but it was the first that they saw of anything Big Brother-related,” she explained. “I think they were just afraid that if I went on, I was going to forget about the things that I wanted to do.”
Which doesn’t seem to be a problem, now that Atashnak has some spare cash to pay down student loans and tuition for law school. To participate on Big Brother, Atashnak took a year off from school and plans to return this fall.
But if Big Brother decides to come calling for an all-star season, Atashnak is all in.
“I would 100 per cent do it,” she said without hesitation. “Any day of the week, I would go back.”