Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences in the space below (1000 character maximum).
As I faced the wall of hundreds of bees, I took a deep breath and reassured myself that the clear plastic covering separating me and the insects was completely durable and could not possibly break. Forcibly eroding my anxiety with enthusiasm, I turn towards the toddlers I had in tow, explaining the purpose of this exhibit. Their eyes light up as I let them go right up to the very front of the plastic where they can hear the faint buzzing.
The Virginia Discovery Museum has a myriad of exhibits for children, an art room, a dress-up station, and an indoor playground, but something about the bee hive has always captured their attention more than the rest. When I first started volunteering at the museum, I was fascinated with the hive, but mostly wary, having always feared bees. The preschoolers I met, on the other hand, fearlessly put their faces right in front of the bees, with only a thin layer of plastic to protect them, while I, a high school student, could barely muster up the guts to do so.
Each time I show this exhibit to kids, I see the same expression, full of naked wonder, devoid of fear, and I realize that I still have a lot to learn. But I start by bringing my own face closer to the bees.
