Author - Tami Lykens

Eager for a sunny spot by the window, I asked to sit with two female, traditional students in the cafeteria one day. From their glances, I gathered they possibly felt awkward about my sharing their table. Perhaps they thought I was a staff member. Feeling out of the norm is uncomfortable. On the days when loneliness stabs deep and isolation tempts, that’s when we non-trads need to get out of our bubble of self. It’s the only way to fight that yucky feeling of being … odd. Try these: (Because I do.) Compliment someone. Pick anything: the shoes-laces, unicorn-umbrella, Star[…]

Hello! I’m Tami. I am a non-trad. Meaning a non-traditional student. Like, REALLY out of the traditional scope of the way things usually go. The following words are my hand out to you. You, who may feel out of the ordinary. This is my story, for you. We piled out of the van, stiff-legged, having driven from our Southern California home to the JBU college visit. It was the spring of 1984.  I fell in love with John Brown University and completed my freshman year in 1986-1987. Going home for that that summer of 1987, I was all geared up[…]