The Buzz on the Bee
As a kid, I was TERRIFIED of bees. I'm not talking a little scream and swatting a bee away... I'm talking full on crying, shrieks of terror, and freezing dead in my tracks to wail if a bee ever landed on me. I remember a couple of specific instances that I over dramatized in the presence of a bee. The first being at a swimming pool complex. I was probably around eight or nine and was sitting next to my sister outside the edge of a hot tub with my our feet hanging inside. Of course, a bee decides to come by and land right on my thigh. I looked down and saw the bee and immediately started screaming and crying, yelling at my sister to get my grandma to get it off of me. My sister gets up to get my grandma and I immediately freak out and tell her not to leave me (even though I just told her to leave me second ago lol.) I honestly don't remember how that ended but I'm sure my grandmother came to my rescue to swat it off of me.
The second memorable occasion I must have been around 12 or 12 and was sitting in the passenger seat of the car while my mom drove. It was a warm summer day and I had the window rolled down. All was swell until I felt something hit my face and topple down to the floor of the car. Wondering what it was I scrambled around my feet to find a HUGE black bee. You best believe I freaked out beyond reason and screamed and cried at my mom to pull over. Thinking something was seriously wrong she pulled over asking me what was wrong. I pointed to the bee on the floor and she, of course, was upset with my dramatics haha.
It wasn't until freshman year of high school that I met my fate and finally got stung by one of those little buzzers. I was walking to class and remember seeing a bee fly down into my shoe (I was wearing boots and it got through the top) followed by feeling like I just got a shot at the doctor's. I quickly took off my shoe and was faced with a dead bee and a stinger in my foot. Okay, ow, but also not that bad. Now that'd I'd officially become a recipient of a bee sting, I realized it was not all that bad and I got over my fear of bees very quickly after that.
I got my little bee tattoo to remind myself of my huge irrational fear and how most things are not even as bad as they seem. When feeling anxious, I can remind myself how truly petrified I was of bees and now I can hold a bee in my hand piece of cake. I still have several irrational fears I need to overcome in regards to my anxiety, but this little reference helps me remember that it truly is possible.
