Passionate about studying bugs? This was something that, at one point, I could not comprehend. I thought they were just bugs. I entered the Insect Fear Film Festival with this belief, but it would soon change.
The doors had not yet opened so it was a perfect time to interview people running the event. The first person I interviewed was Nils Cordes. Little did I know that this would be the interview that changed my mind.
I felt that this interview was going to be very awkward, that is, until I asked Nils what he specialized in with his entomology studies. His eyes immediately lit up with excitement. He could not stop talking about his studies about social insects (mainly bees and termites). There were many things that he said that I did not comprehend fully, but I could see the inspiration he had in his work. This was the biggest thing I came away with from the event.
Nils Cordes’ interview was the one that I remember the best, but it certainly was not unique. Every person who was working the event that I interviewed had the same expression on his face when being interviewed - a look of genuine enthusiasm. This is more than a job for them. It is a passion, and it happens to be their career.
Their career is something that they want to share. It is the whole point of the Insect Fear Film Festival. It appears the festival is to inform the public about insects, but the more I think about it I realize that it is for the entomology students to express their passion. What is the point of having a passion that is hidden? Kids swarmed the “petting zoo” and face paint areas with wide grins, and the grins were the same as the students working the event. Maybe that is what a passion is; being a kid at work. It turns from work to fun.
Nils Cordes paints a visitor's face. (photo by Oliver Bobadilla) 
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