Skye Bothma
Bio
Skye is a freelance editor and writer living in rural New Zealand, where she writes about life, love and what it is to be human. She is currently working on her first novel. Visit her website at www.skyebothma.nz
Stories (31/0)
Why having chronic illness is like being a knight in armour
For many of us with chronic illness it can be difficult to explain how our illness limits us, especially when on the outside we may appear perfectly healthy and able-bodied. There are many useful metaphors and analogies, like Christine Miserandino’s famous Spoon Theory, that help to explain how living with chronic conditions uses up the energy most people use on things they take for granted.
By Skye Bothmaabout a year ago in Psyche
I Forgive You, Dad
I had a difficult relationship with my father, but not for same reason as other kids. I was not a rebellious rule-breaker and he was not overly strict or neglectful. He did not abuse me or my mother. He was always attentive, generous and ready to help. On outward appearances he was the kind of father my friends wished they had, yet I felt ashamed and guilty for wishing I had a ‘normal’ dad.
By Skye Bothmaabout a year ago in Humans
Why I reported a lewd text to the police
Today I went to the police to report an incident of sexual harassment. I wasn’t going to at first. I was going to accept his apology that the lewd text he sent me was an error of judgement during a moment of intoxication. But then I thought about it. This wasn’t going to go away. It might be forgiven and forgotten but there would be another incident.
By Skye Bothma2 years ago in Viva
Dreaming of Egypt
Last night I was in Egypt. It was early morning, the sun just beginning to rise, painting the base of the pyramids a liquid gold. There was a chill in the air – making me wish I'd brought a sweater, even though I'd have no use for it in only an hour or so, once the morning sun had fully awakened. I stood at the base of the world's most iconic ancient wonder, arms wrapped tightly round me to stop me shivering, feeling the dewy air wet my hair. I strained to see the top which seemed to disappear into the clouds forming from my own breath. I felt the excitement of finally getting to see something I've wanted to see all my life and so unexpectedly. After all, only a few hours before I had climbed into bed and switched off the light with no travel plans for the immediate future.
By Skye Bothma2 years ago in Poets
The secret to true love
As an incurable romantic who longs to find the kind of love that defies logic, defies the odds, I have struggled with everyday relationships that have gone nowhere and left me feeling hurt and betrayed. I’m always trying to make sense of this elusive emotion, always trying to understand why love works for some and for others it is one heartbreak after another. Is the secret compatibility? Is lasting love built on friendship rather than attraction? Are there forces at play that can predict its success, like the forces needed to keep an aircraft airborne?
By Skye Bothma2 years ago in Humans
When depression isn’t depression
I have a real issue with depression being termed a mental illness… wait, let me finish… because sometimes depression isn’t depression. Sometimes it’s a normal and natural state of being and by calling this depression we are labelling a whole group of people as mentally ill when in fact they’re perfectly well.
By Skye Bothma3 years ago in Psyche
This is my Truth
You might not see it when you first look at me, but I am different. I have come to accept my singular experience and have learned to blend in, becoming something of a shapeshifter adapting my character to match those around me, to hide my 'alienness'. But blending in is not the same as fitting in. You might be able to hide that part that doesn’t fit for a while, paint over it, dismiss it, ignore it – covering your ears while singing loudly, even convince yourself that you are like everyone else, but it’s always there and it just takes one piece of music, one movie scene, one heartfelt speech by a Hollywood celebrity to strike a chord and bring it all flooding out into the open.
By Skye Bothma3 years ago in Humans
The Aerodynamic Theory of Love
On the question of love I have both a creative brain—specifically that of a writer—and an analytical brain, that of an unrealized scientist, and so I am blessed with both emotional and rational perspectives. And like many a bard, poet, philosopher, psychologist and neuroscientist, I have pondered the nature of love both in terms of the romantic notion and the scientific neuro-chemical basis. Yet, it still eludes.
By Skye Bothma4 years ago in Humans
