Writing Through Different Eyes

Nikki and her twin sister, Kendal

Photo taken by their Mom, Stacy Lyssy

“Nikki and I are two of four sisters,” Kendal states.  “My entire family is really tight-knit. The mindset of  ‘you can do anything you set your mind to, and nothing should or will hold you back’ influenced the way I view the world today, and how Nikki and I choose to live our lives, separately and together.” 

Nikki was a devout book nerd from the moment she learned how to read Braille. She read books like The Baby-Sitter’s Club then fell in love with young adult novels like The Hunger Games as her taste in literature matured. Her love for storytelling appeared in the music she listened to as well. Carrie Underwood played on the radio when she was in the car. Taylor Swift blasted from the speakers in her room. She found herself drawn to country artists with their intentional lyrics that told descriptive stories. 

When she attended The University of North Texas, she decided to pursue a degree in journalism. She loved listening to people tell their stories and shaping them on paper. For two years she studied to become a feature reporter but realized she “did not feel creatively fulfilled.” She always enjoyed writing fiction stories and would often try to write seeing characters. This proved to be a challenge for her. When she took her first creative nonfiction class taught by Dr. Jill Talbot she was brought into a new world where creativity flowed in a way she had never thought possible. 

Dr. Jill Talbot and Nikki worked closely to make the class accessible for a person who has never read literature in a traditional sense. It was difficult for Nikki to understand different fonts or the length of a sentence because Braille doesn’t function in the same way. 

“I realized during the segmentation unit that the Braille display I utilized was reading sentences line by line, which made the concept of sentence-by-sentence segments nearly impossible for me to grasp,” Nikki explained. 

Nikki showed up to Dr. Tobolt’s office one day with an essay she typed up in Braille. She was frustrated because she couldn’t wrap her mind around how the length of a segment affected the writing. Dr. Tobolt gently cut the essay into strips and laid them on the couch in her office. Nikki slowly traced her hand along the strips and was astounded by the weight of each segment. The fifth segment was the shortest but, to Nikki, carried the most weight. It all clicked into place for her. 

The two spent so much time together they became more than just a professor with her student. They became close friends. 

“My mother passed during the first semester I had Nikki in class, in April of 2018,” Dr. Tobalt said. “She was the only student who asked if she could give me a hug. I’ll never forget it—we were standing in the hallway and her gesture was real and sincere, and I needed it.”

Dr. Tobalt remembers how much Nikki loves pink starbursts and keeps an extra batch in the jar in her office to honor the impact she had on her life. 

“I can’t think of where I would have ended up if I had not taken that class,” Nikki admitted. “It made me realize that I could write about my life and that people were interested in it.” 

She changed her major to English and applied for the Master of fine arts program to accommodate her passion for that manner of writing. 

In addition to Dr. Talbot, Nikki had many other influential professors while attending UNT. 

“Dorothy Bland was really wonderful in the journalism department and even though I did not stick with journalism for a very long time, her influence really touched my life as well and made me realize the type of writing that goes into a journalist's career. It made me realize ultimately that I wanted to do something a bit more on the creative side.” 

Professor Bland taught her race, gender and media class. She was in awe of  Nikki’s “tremendous work ethic.”  Nikki was “a model student, talented as a writer and will do great with whatever she does.”

Now Nikki sits in a room full of brilliant students, teaching them what she knows about creative writing. In addition to pursuing her masters degree at the University of South Florida, she finds time to write personal essays that she plans to put together in a memoir about her experience as a successful blind woman. 

“It’s still in its infancy but I am really writing about the challenges and trials but also the joys and opportunities that I’ve been given,” Nikki explained. 

Nikki is taking steps towards accomplishing her goal of being a professor and a writer at the same time. She is truly appreciative of the experience she had at UNT and the people who helped her realize her dreams and provided her the stepping stools to pursuing them. 

“I feel so incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to attend UNT,” Nikki exclaimed. “I just think it’s such a great university... Especially the liberal arts focus… it’s something I really appreciate because I absolutely love where I’m at right now.”