🐟The World’s Silliest Pyramid

This year, I went to the world’s silliest pyramid.

And no, it’s not the silliest, because it’s the most expensive pyramid in America, or the largest pyramid in America (it’s not, actually).

It’s also not the silliest, because it had a crystal skull embedded in the top by a founder of Hard Rock Cafe — and was the topic of many satanic and anti-satanic groups over the years.

The Memphis Pyramid earns the title of silliest pyramid, because it is a Bass Pro Shop.

A Bass Pro Shop.

I am not kidding. There was a literal swamp, with boats and fishing, in that pyramid. 

Ok, ok. This should not be the first thing I talk about my trip to Mississippi and Tennessee.

Heck, it should not even be the highlight of the day – because in that same day, I went to Beale Street, the Lorraine Hotel, and Graceland.

But I have to say, the Bass Pro Shop was pretty iconic — and it’s a perfect opener to what will be a pretty heavy blog post.

So sit down, grab some popcorn, and enjoy an edited summary of the past few weeks…

…Months?

Man time is flying by so quick,  I’m almost 18 💀 

Driving Question

“How can stories of social activism and change from the past inspire us to create a positive impact in our communities today?”

So, you’re probably confused. That’s fine, because I’ve given you no explanation whatsoever as to what’s going on in this blog post.

Anyways, for our latest PLP adventure, we travelled to Mississippi and Tennessee (and technically Arkansas, but only, because our hotel was just across the river.) We did this to learn more about the Civil Rights Movement in America, and also, the role music played in it.

Since then, I’ve done a lot of crazy things. 

I was probably cursed by spooky spirits and whacky loud birds for slipping in graveyard mud. Yuck!

I sold my soul to the devil at the crossroads — just for fun, because I didn’t ask for anything in return. Which was probably a poor business decision on my part. 

I went on the craziest coaster OF MY LIFE. And of course, the first ride I’ve ridden since Disney World was the most intense coaster in the park.  

And I nearly became an extra in the next Twisters movie.

…Just to name a few experiences. 

But before we dive into my trip, we’d need to travel back a month to when we first started this project.

According to Alicia’s blog post, the project began on February 24, 2025. Could I have figured out this information on my own? Probably. But I was stalking other people’s blog posts anyways, so I see no harm done.

We started by learning the name of Emmett Till. A story that sparked both the Civil Rights Movement and our project, and a story that I believe needs to be known.

You see, stories like Emmett’s are the core of this project. The objective of our work was to bring to light stories of incredible individuals, whose lives have changed the world for the better – in particular, in regards to the Civil Rights Movement.

Which is why, at first glance, Elvis Presley was a strange choice.

I chose Elvis to be the person whose story I would document and share while on this trip. 

Honestly, at first, I was also confused. How did Elvis Presley have a connection to the Civil Rights Movement, and did he ever create change in that way? I was determined to find answers.

Before I went on the trip, I made a storyboard. Although I ended up scrapping a vast majority of what I had mind before I went on the trip, I found that this process was pretty helpful to visualize how it might play out. 

When I went on the trip, I had a bunch of wild experiences. I saw the Grand Ol’ Opry,  John Stamos was my interactive iPad tour guide in Graceland, I got my fortune read for $1, and I ate catfish? And I ate at not one, but TWO all you can eat buffets. 

But the wildest moments were going up to complete strangers and interviewing them about Elvis Presley. It was pretty crazy, I met someone who actually saw Elvis live. 

If you want to read more about my experience, I wrote down some interesting reflections in here… 

When we got home, I went to work on the video. Through my research, I found a lot of interesting footage online which I included in my final video — like videos from famous artists like BB King. As I enjoy the editing process, I really liked putting everything together, and I’m really proud of how it turned out — although I nearly fried my iPad trying to export it 💀

However, this wasn’t the end as we still had to present our work to our parents (to prove that we weren’t only eating catfish, riding insane rollercoasters, and selling our souls.)

We did this in a panel discussion, where we talked about our trip and the things we learned.

To be honest, I did not enjoy this part of the project as much. Although I am now in Spoken Language and I’ve become very comfortable reading speeches — discussing in panel doesn’t always follow a script. However, I am happy with how I contributed to this discussion.

(I actually saw a real Kermit in the Mississippi history museum.) 

In the end, I think I grew a lot through this trip. I’ve learned that I shouldn’t be so afraid to talk to people. Just the other day, I had an interesting conversation with an older woman in a Salvation Army. If I hadn’t earned the courage to do this through the trip, then I wouldn’t have gotten to hear her amazing story.

As a takeaway, I think everyone has a story that wants to be told — and its up to all of us to listen.