Ainsley Eskridge is a Junior at Western Illinois University (WIU), majoring in English and minoring in creative writing. She is in her second year as a part of Elements and her first year on The Mirror & the Lamp at WIU. She enjoys reading, writing, baking, watching movies, and listening to music. Her favorite genres in literature are historical fiction and fantasy. Her favorite music artists include Taylor Swift, ABBA, and Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

M&L: What is your weekday routine like as an English major/minor?

AE: Currently, I have a Professional Development Workshop and Rhetorical Grammar in the mornings on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, as well as Film Theory and an Advanced Fiction Workshop on Wednesday nights. All of my in-person classes are in Simpkins Hall. I get up in the morning, eat breakfast, get ready, and make my 25-minute commute to campus from where I live on a farm outside of Industry, IL. After and in between classes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I work in Sherman Hall where I fold mail and input data. Fridays after work I go to the weekly Mirror & the Lamp meeting. I then go home, play with my dog, and work on homework before winding down by watching a movie or reading.

M&L: What are your weekends like?

AE: My weekends are rather boring. I don’t get out much, mostly staying home and working on homework. I read, hang out with my dog, and watch movies and TV.

M&L: What book are all your English peers reading that lies beyond assigned texts for class?

AE: Everyone is into different things, but I’ve run across some similarities. I have met some who have read the Throne of Glass series, which I greatly enjoyed as well. I also know some people who enjoy Fourth Wing, which I read last winter.

M&L: What book has changed your life as an undergraduate?

AE: It is impossible to pick a single one and difficult to avoid books I read before coming to college. I read the Throne of Glass series over the summer, which was really well written and I greatly enjoyed it. I also read The Prison Healer series, which had so many twists and turns it kept me constantly turning the page. The characters in both series’ stuck with me and I haven’t stopped thinking about them. Some other new books I read recently are the Caraval trilogy, the Once Upon a Broken Heart trilogy, the Letters of Enchantment duology, and the Heartless Hunter. These consumed all of my thoughts and I immediately wanted to reread them.

M&L: Where do you hang out on campus?

AE: As a commuting student, I don’t hang out much on campus. When I am on campus, I am in class or working. However, in my small in-between moments, if I have them, I hang with friends in the Reading Room in Simpkins.

M&L: Where do you hang out off campus?

AE: As I said in the questions above, I don’t get out much. However, every once in a while I visit The Full Scoop ice cream shop in Colchester, Larry A’s pizza place in Macomb, and the movie theater.

M&L: What has been or will be your biggest adventure as an undergraduate English major/minor?

AE: I intend to study abroad this summer! Not all of the programs are up yet, so I haven’t made a final decision yet on where exactly I am going. However, I intend to go to England, Scotland, or Ireland.