Guysha Guy is currently an undergraduate student at Western Illinois University, majoring in English Literature and minoring in Creative Writing. She loves trying many different things to fulfill her life. She partakes in baking, junk journaling/scrapbooking, and coloring to get that creative spark when she isn’t writing. Writing is something she’s dreamed of doing; she hopes to become a writer, as she loves writing stories and creating characters in her head. Guysha actually hopes to become the next writer for Vogue Magazine to become Miranda Priestly (she loves the film The Devil Wears Prada!). When she isn’t thinking about academics, she mostly spends her free time watching many different films (from noir to classics to animation).

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

GG: Well… my routine is a little different now, since I’m not on campus anymore. I have a lot more free time. I usually wake up and work out, then eat breakfast and read a book. Sometimes it depends on the day. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, it is a little different since I do have class (via Zoom) with Professor Malachuk. On those days, I usually re-read the lessons [for] what we are going to do on that day, [look] at the prompt, and [get] my thoughts together before class starts at 12:30 P.M.

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

GG: I honestly don’t know. I don’t think we have major assigned readings this semester. I really don’t know what my peers are reading. That’s a little bit of a difficult question.

M&L: What are your weekends like?

GG: My weekends are pretty boring. There are days when I just lounge out and watch K-dramas for fun (I’m currently watching Perfect Marriage Revenge). The weekends are mostly the days I spend with my mom. We usually do [a] girls’ day, and sometimes we just sit and relax with each other… maybe gossip.

M&L: When you were here, where did you hang out on campus?

GG: When I was on campus, sometimes I would hang out at the [University] Union when I had free time. There are times when I would hang out in the lounges on my floor when I lived in Olson Hall. [My] floor was fairly quiet, but when I wanted to do my work, I’d tend to hang out in my dorm because it was much more comfortable and [it was] quieter. I also didn’t have people constantly looking at me or walking in and out. The lounge sometimes gave me anxiety, and I always felt like I was being watched.

M&L: When you were here, where did you hang out off campus?

GG: On campus, I had a really bad spending habit, so I was always at Walmart. However, when TJ Maxx [opened], I was always there because shopping was my therapy, in a way. I also hung out at the local movie theater because I love film. It was the only place where I could learn and not feel compressed with academics. Being out in places where there [wasn’t] a lot of learning and school lifted the huge weight off my shoulders. 

M&L: What book has changed your life?

GG: Last year, when I took a class with Dr. Allison, we read the book Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. This book really changed my life because it represented a part of my culture (which is Caribbean culture). A student in the class who also had the same background mentioned that there wasn’t a lot of Caribbean literature growing up (and [there] wasn’t). When I read literature, I had a hard time feeling connected to [it] because it was always about the rich white demographic or boring (classic) stories written by dead old men. Although these stories taught me lessons and taught me a lot, [they] just didn’t resonate with me. However, reading Wide Sargasso Sea made me feel welcomed and somewhat [at] home. 

M&L: What brought you to the English department at WIU?

GG: English has always been my first love, but it took me a while to come back to it. When I started at WIU, I was a Psychology major, but I realized I had no passion for it. Then I moved on to Art, which was the worst mistake of my life; I was depressed and didn’t feel like I belonged there. I thought it was meant to be expressive, but I was wrong. When I came back to the English world, I felt happier and like I was meant to be there. When I was a kid, I was always reading, even when I wasn’t supposed to; I snuck books [into] classes and got in trouble for it a lot with my teachers. The art of reading got me into writing, so coming back to English to write brought back that passion.

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

GG: My biggest adventure as an undergraduate is graduating! My time at WIU hasn’t been the greatest, and while it’s taken a little time (staying another semester), this might be my biggest step, mainly because there have been times when I really wanted to give up. I thought that WIU wasn’t particularly the space for me, and [I] always felt forced. I was always sad and sunken and felt like I had all the time in the world to graduate and come back to school another time. But I knew I couldn’t give up just yet, and not giving up paid off. Listening to my parents gave me the wake-up call to let me know, “Hey, college isn’t that bad!” And I’m glad I listened. This adventure hasn’t only impacted me, but it has opened my eyes to know that although things are hard and it doesn’t always go your way, there is a mark at the end, and when you cross that mark, you will feel much happier!