About the Nerd Whose Site You’re On

Guest lecturing on screenwriting at Bethel University

What’s good?

My name is J.P. Pressley, and I’m a twenty-three-year-old striving to do one thing: live up to my fullest potential on this earth. Due to and even in spite of my vast array of life experiences, the pursuit of this goal has resulted in a number of blessed opportunities. For example, a love of entrepreneurship and disdain for being laid off at the age of six (yes, six) led to my starting an ice cream cart business at the age of eight. Years later, my obsession with basketball and my willingness to do whatever it took to prove wrong the doctors who told me I shouldn’t play led to my being a two-sport college athlete (had to add track into the mix—short distance only, of course).

First day on the set of Jon Chu's "In the Heights"
First day on the set of Jon Chu’s “In the Heights”

When I die, I want to die empty—I don’t want to have any gas left in my tank. I want to unleash all of my potential upon this world, leaving the grave high and dry. That’s why I’ve worked on my creative writing literally every day since February 1, 2018, why I’ve started The Young & Rising, and why I continued working in film part-time amidst working in publishing full-time and going to school full-time for my now completed MFA in Writing. I’m doing and will continue to do everything I can to make this desire a reality

Want to help me along this journey? Feel free to contact me! Want to watch from afar? Keep checking back in, or follow me on InstagramTwitter, or Facebook. Either way, I truly appreciate your taking the time to learn a little about my young and nerdy Black self.

Be blessed!

J.P. Pressley, #2, playing college basketball
Despite some of the difficulties I just mentioned (and even more that I didn’t) I used to play college basketball (wearing #2 here) and track. Take that doctors. 😎