Why a Bee?
If you've seen the cover of She Wasn't Supposed to Fly,, you' ve probably noticed the bee.It's hard to miss.
Bees became an important symbol of the story and ultimately found their way onto the cover.
At first glance, a bee might seem like an unusual choice for a flying analogy. Then again, maybe that's exactly the point.
I've always found the story of the bumblebee fascinating. According to science, a bumblebee shouldn't be able to fly. Its wings are too tiny, and its body is too big. Whether the science is accurate has never mattered to me. What matters is the metaphor woven inside the story. The bee doesn't look for external validation to fly. It simply lifts its impossibly tiny wings and takes flight.
As a young girl, the bee became my symbol for defying expectations, and that metaphor quietly became my approach to life.
Growing up in a turbulent home on the South Side of Chicago, there were countless voices telling me that my future had already been written. I grew up surrounded by poverty, chaos, and trauma, circumstances that can make creating a different life feel impossible. From the outside, becoming a paratrooper in the U.S. Army's elite 82nd Airborne Division, earning advanced degrees, or rising into C-suite leadership simply wasn't supposed to happen for someone like me.
I rejected that narrative. The bee reminds me that our most meaningful journeys aren't about proving someone wrong. They're about refusing to let someone else's expectations determine what's possible.
So, why a bee?
Not because it's the subject of the story, but because it’s a symbol of what's possible.
Question for readers:
Have you ever believed you weren't "supposed" to do something, only to one day realize someone else's expectations didn't have to become your own?
S.T. Griffon
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