 Standing in a garden in Brentwood kitted out in a full bee suit, hat and gloves, I held up a frame covered in hundreds of bees, smiling from ear to ear. I was on a day-long beekeeping course and, at that moment, I was brave, fearless, euphoric. The happiest and best version of myself I'd been in a long time. It was day 30 of my challenge to try 30 new things in 30 days – and I couldn't be prouder of myself. Not only because I'd completed the month-long task I'd set myself but because I also have a long-standing fear of bees. At 41, I'd love to tell you I'm the type of person who's always adventurous. Someone who grabs life by the horns, confronts her fears and throws herself into new adventures. But I'd be lying. I'm a homebody who doesn't tend to rock the boat and follows a pre-prescribed routine of being a working mother-of-four. I avoid situations I find socially stressful and mostly stick within a 10-block radius of my home in southwest London. Jen taking part in a clothes swap at Loanhood (Picture: Jen Barton Packer) I'm kind of… boring. So back in May, I saw that Eventbrite was running a competition, called the #GTFOChallenge. The challenge would take place in July, where one Londoner would be selected to try out a different activity every day for 30 days. 'I could be that person,' I thought. As soon as I had the thought, fear and self-doubt knotted my stomach. Of course I couldn't. It wasn't me at all… But there was something invigorating about the challenge and I found myself wondering, what could I try out that I'd always wanted to? What could I learn? Who could I meet? How much fun and adventure could I have? Vintage collaging workshop with Goose Glitters (Picture: Laura from GooseGlitters) So, I pushed down my inner doubts and filled out the application form. Incredibly, the team got in touch to arrange a Zoom call. And in June, they contacted me again – this time t){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Standing in a garden in Brentwood kitted out in a full bee suit, hat and gloves, I held up a frame covered in hundreds of bees, smiling from ear to ear.
I was on a day-long beekeeping course and, at that moment, I was brave, fearless, euphoric. The happiest and best version of myself I’d been in a long time.
It was day 30 of my challenge to try 30 new things in 30 days – and I couldn’t be prouder of myself.
Not only because I’d completed the month-long task I’d set myself but because I also have a long-standing fear of bees.