14 Jun Conquering my Fears in Memphis on the Big River Crossing

I didn’t know I would be conquering more than one fear in Memphis.

I walked across the Big River Crossing.

After I was chosen to attend Blog house Memphis, I was both nervous and excited. I was looking forward to getting feedback on how to turn my blog into a business. But I was also scared to hear what people thought.

When I read that a bridge connects Tennesse and Arkansas over the Mississippi River, I thought it would be a cool idea to walk across. There is only one problem. I’m afraid to walk, bike, and even drive across bridges. When there is no other choice to drive across one, I do it, but most likely, I’m holding my breath and thinking, “please God, get me to the other side.”

Conquering my Fears

I got up early on Wednesday morning to start walking before it was too hot outside. It took about 30 minutes to get to the entrance of the bridge from the Peabody Hotel downtown. I walked casually and stopped and took pictures enjoying the city sites. It wasn’t until I arrived at the Big River Crossing entrance that my heart started racing, and I began to panic.

I know what you are thinking. I have traveled all over the world alone, jumped out of a plane twice, gone zip lining, survived cancer, but I’m scared to walk across a bridge. I’m still haunted by the memories of standing frozen at the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City, watching people pass me. I feel embarrassed to tell people that I didn’t climb or come anywhere near the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia.

But 2018 is about facing my fears and not avoiding the things that scare me. When I arrived at that bridge entrance, I was determined to get to the other side. I am also training to hike Mount Kilimanjaro in March of 2019. Walking three miles a few times a week has become part of my routine, and I couldn’t miss it because I was in Memphis.

Big River Crossing

The Big River Crossing opened in October 2016 and is the longest public rail/pedestrian/bike bridge over the Mississippi River in the United States. The bridge is almost 1 mile long and leads you to a 70-mile path along the Mississippi River in West Memphis.

Credit: Big River Crossing / Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau

I did manage to stop and take a couple of pictures of the views from the bridge.  You can see the Hernando DeSoto Bridge and the Bass Pro Shop Pyramid on the right.

Hernando DeSoto Bridge in Memphis, TN

Memphis on Big River Crossing

To distract me from what I was attempted to do, I started recording on Instagram. You can hear my screams below. I was terrified. People were friendly on the bridge, and they waved and said hello.

I did make my 10,000 steps goal that day. Walking back to Memphis across Big River Crossing was more comfortable than going to West Memphis, Arkansas. When I arrived back in Tennessee, I couldn’t remember why I was so nervous in the first place. That’s the funny thing about fear; your mind makes things seem more significant than they are.

I went to Memphis to learn ways to improve my blog Myles to Travel.  When I left BlogHouse, I felt more confident and learned some valuable information. I also conquered my fear of crossing bridges.

A special thank you to The Peabody Hotel, Memphis Tourism, and Mediavine for partially sponsoring the Bloghouse Memphis conference. As always, all opinions expressed are our own.

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