Name: Michael Grace Fisher
Year: Freshman, Class of 2020
Hometown: Mercer Island, WA (but let’s be honest, she’s from Seattle)
Major: Math and/or Psychology probably
Favorite Food: Sushi
Campus activities: LOTS of theatre, rugby
TV show character she’d like to be: Jessica Jones
You’ve probably been wondering: who’s that stylish, purple-haired, fast-walking being of wonder strutting around campus? Fear not, for I have discovered her identity. Michael Grace Fisher, or Mikey as her friends call her, is a truly extraordinary person. When asked to describe her, Sam Burke said she is like the candle you use to light all the other candles on a birthday cake because she spreads her glow to everyone she meets. I sat down with her to discover what makes Mikey so delightful.
Hey, Mikey! Thanks for sitting down to talk to me today. First off, can you tell me a little about the origins of your name?
I’m named after my grandmother and she was named after a 1920s actress and poet named Michael Strange. That’s her stage name and she wrote weirdly erotic poetry which is odd.
What is your favorite theatre production that you’ve been in?
In high school, I was in this play called Imaginary Invalid which is this translation of a play by Molière. I played a gold-digging, alcoholic wife. It was so fun to play someone so evil and so confident, and I think at that time I needed to feel confident in myself.
What is your dream job?
I want to work with children in the age group of 5-12 with mental illnesses in elementary schools, and I want to help out that demographic because I think that every child deserves to have a happy childhood or at least one with positive sides to it. Making people feel stable is the way to fix many of the problems in our society.
Which place on earth makes you the happiest?
Kenyon. The friends and the people I’ve met here have opened me up to the person I wanted to be and the person I truly was and that has helped me become a happier person. I appreciate that I can be everything that I want to be.
How would you describe your general aesthetic?
It’s confusing because people see me and they think, “I don’t know what that is” (laughs). I think I’m an alt-punky-maybe-it’s-a-girl-thing. I like being a little bit out there. I dyed my hair when I was ten, but through social conditioning, I lost that part of myself. It’s who I am and now I can’t imagine myself any other way. I feel more comfortable in rings and jewelry and funky makeup, and it really is me.
As a pansexual person, what is the most frustrating assumption people make about you?
The most common one, especially among straight white men, is that because I am bi or pan means that I want to talk about women’s bodies in an objectifying way. The most annoying one is that because you are bi or pan, you are sexually promiscuous in a way that others aren’t. It’s frustrating.
What are three things that make you irrationally happy?
Any of my friends, canvasses and fresh sushi from Seattle.
As we head into finals week, do you have any words of comfort for fellow Kenyon students?
-
Be silly and have that time with your friends that is so necessary where you laugh your ass off.
-
Dance like no one is watching you, and if they are, don’t care about it. If you don’t dance, read a book or do anything else that makes you feel in your element.
-
Remember if you’re stressing, we’re all going to die. But actually, do your work, but not to the point of breaking down.
-
As my CA Alex Hill would say, be a person first and a student second.
Thanks for meeting up to chat with me, Michael! Good luck with finals!
Image credits: Vahni Kurra