Beekeeping has taught me a lot of life lessons. 

A single bee only produces 1/12th of a tablespoon of honey in its lifetime. Which might not seem like a lot but when they're all existing and working together, they create enough honey to sustain the hive over the entire winter. A single hive usually has around 30,000 bees. But whats more remarkable is that the only thing bees do is take as little as possible and give back along the way. They communicate with each other, they put each other first, and they build hives that are so smart, and logical. Bees are the center of life in our world. They pollinate our crops. They make our flowers beautiful. They just give. After learning about bees its hard not to consider how much we take from the world and how little we give back. Because unlike bees we get discouraged. We think too much about the smallness of our impact when we could be thinking about the greatness of doing anything at all.

I named my blog Golden Standard after the resilience of bees and the standard they set for us to hold ourselves to. I've always wanted to start a blog but like most people, I have been afraid of what other people might think. Well, isn't it great to be doing anything at all? This is my little view of the world, just trying to give back along the way. 

I'm Ann Marie, a 20-year-old fashion student currently living in New York City. I recently moved here from my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio where my bees (and family) live. I started beekeeping in the spring of 2016 with my boyfriend after he expressed an interest in learning about it. Together we take care of three hives in our spare time. I currently intern at Kleinfeld Bridal and at Knickerbocker Mfg Co. When I'm not working or studying I spend my time looking for new corners of the city, finding the nearest breakfast place, and listening to new music. 

Photos by Alison Scapulla