Memphis; Birthplace of Rock 'n Roll

Many of you will know Tennessee as being the place where Miley Cyrus is from but another, more influential singer/actor was from the same state. I am talking about Elvis Presley, the king of rock n' roll. I was surprised to learn that Elvis was actually born in a small town in Mississippi and I was lucky enough to visit the exact location. Seeing the roots of such an influential man was life changing for me. The house was small and built out of white painted wood. It was nothing special but it housed a very special person.

This experience made me realise that it doesn't matter where people are from, we are all made the same. That person living in the mansion on your street is no better than you, for all they know, you might be the next Elvis Presley.

Another thing I learnt is that Elvis had a twin who was stillborn. I can only imagine what it feels like to have a twin but lose them so quickly, never actually getting to know them. But Elvis overcame this. It got me thinking, why did Elvis survive but his brother didn't? There must be a reason and maybe it was to let Elvis share his music with the world. 

While I was in Memphis it was also my 18th birthday! We didn't really do anything for me as such (because we only went to Memphis for my Dad) but to this day (over one year later haha) I am glad that I was able to spend a birthday overseas exploring a new state with my family. On my actual birthday we explored Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley.

Overall, Memphis was such an amazing experience and I really did feel the Southern hospitality! It is definitely one place that I would go back to in a heartbeat. At the start of arriving in Memphis, it is safe to say that I wasn't the biggest Elvis fan. That has completely changed and I couldn't be happier with this trip and this experience. 

- Nicole Marie Ranz

P.S. sorry for taking so long to post this... in all honestly I kind of forgot about it. The point of my travel posts are to document my adventures so it doesn't matter to me how late I post it. But regardless, I still apologise :)