Comm 2320
Basic Reporting for the School of Communication at ECU

Presley Thomas is a small town girl from Little Rock, Arkansas. She was born on 0ctober 6, 1986. She is now 21 years old. Presley was always a wonderful, cuddly child who was funny, active and athletic. As a baby she loved to be held and rocked. When she learned to sit-up she became a “banger,” she would bang her head on the end of the crib and make the busy box sing over and over and over again. It drove her parent’s nuts, particularly in the middle of the night. She was always a sweet child, but also stubborn and quite independent. Presley regularly asked for advice as a child, but then did exactly what she decided to do.

As she grew up Presley liked to go to school to see her friends and get out of the house. However, academically she wasn’t as interested. One of the most important things in her life has been her relationship with her brother. According to her mother, there is no brother and sister any closer than Peter and Presley. They have this unique way of talking to each other, mostly in movie, sit-com and stand-up comedy lines. He can keep her laughing all day. He describes her as a giggle box and says once she starts you can’t get her to stop. It continues to this day. Her father and mother never know what they are saying but they are obviously having a good time.

Also, I think her great success at athletic competition was pretty important for her. She played tennis and she was top 25 players in the South; South Carolina, North Carolina Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Kentucky and Mississippi. Of all those states combined she was ranked in the top 25. Also, she was number one in Arkansas. When she was nine she played in the older division in a tournament and won. She is one tough competitor and likes to win.

Other happy memories include always being with her brother and getting her own puppy for her ninth birthday. She also enjoyed trips such as trips to Disneyland and Disney World, Six Flags, Nags Head, Europe, Mexico, NYC, Boston and San Francisco.

One of the hardest things in her life was losing her grandmother. Presley was always her favorite and visited her several times in San Francisco. Losing the family dogs was hard for her as well. Also, she lost a friend in high school and that had a big impact on her. All of these events saddened Presley but she pressed on to become the person that she is today.

Presley enjoys life to the fullest. She’s quick witted, humorous and a great friend. She is fiercely loyal. She’s a big sports fan and a movie buff, especially Disney. She likes all kinds of music. She is a great writer and, as her brother says, “a real giggle box.” She is a very laid back person. She likes to hang out and laugh a lot. She loves watching basketball and football. She likes to go downtown or find bars that are playing really good live music.

I asked her friend Stephanie Rogers if they had any good fun party stories and she replied “One of the craziest stories I have with P is when we went to Beal St. in Memphis, TN. We went last Christmas break with her parents during the Liberty Bowl. This was one of the best nights because we were in a different place with just us two meeting lots of crazy Miss St. and UCF fans. The bar Coyote Ugly was involved and a horse drawn carriage ride, it only took us two blocks but I guess we felt the need to ride in a carriage rather than walk.”

I wanted to know if the way she acted differed from friend to friend so I asked her friend Sally Rush the same question, “So do you have any crazy stories with Presley?” She answered, “Yes, we have plenty of those. One of the most interesting ones comes from our first year at ECU. One night Presley decided to take her heels off because they were hurting her feet. When we got up the next morning and walked downstairs to get breakfast, there were her shoes sitting out in front of West End. Apparently carrying them upstairs was too much work also.”

Presley herself admitted to one of her crazy stories. She went downtown one night and go so drunk she fell off her stool in a bar. The bartender cut her off so she went to Alfredos to get something to eat. From there she bought a whole large for herself and her friends on her mom’s credit card. Her mother was pretty mad about that. She then left barefooted and flagged down a cab. In the cab she threw up and the cab driver kicked her out. She doesn’t remember how she got home after that.

Finally, I asked her friends to sum her up in one word and they both answered with the same response, “Crazy, but the good kind. She will do or say things sometimes that completely blow my mind, but then I have to remind myself that, oh yeah this is Presley we are talking about.” Presley is an awesome person, she is a little crazy, loves to laugh, and would do anything for her friends and family. Her views on life are her own; she doesn’t let anyone tell her differently. At the same time she never tries to tell someone that the way they believe is wrong.

Filed under: 2008 Fall, Classmate Profile