X is for the X-men

 

What do the X-men have to do with a former classsroom educator turned homeschooler of a gifted kid?
 
Everything.

 
 

Who are the X-men?
 
Unless you’ve been living on another planet, I’m sure you’ve heard of Marvel’s comic book/movie characters who spend all of their time fighting for a chance to be who they are- a bunch of mutants. They’re just trying to do their part to save Earth and everyone on it, using their powers for good and fighting the bad guys during the interim.

 

 

Though they run into many supporters initially, they also run into many haters along the way too. They are often misunderstood. The super powers kind of get in the way of “being normal” and sometimes created a disconnect, an unsettling, or fear from the average Joes in the world.

 
 

Have you ever felt like an outcast when you just wanted to be yourself and really meant no harm ?

 
 

Xavier spent months recruiting his early students (code-named Cyclops, Iceman, Angel, Beast and Marvel Girl), dubbing them “X-Men” because each possessed an “extra” ability normal humans lacked.
 

More on Marvel.com: http://marvel.com/universe/X-Men#ixzz479lS6ojB

 
 
 
This disconnect from others prompted Professor Xavier to open up his own school for mutants- the Xavier Institute. Why his own school? It was started as a safe haven so the mutants could be themselves. It is a place to educate mutants to appreciate their own gifts and again, to use them to improve society.

 

Yes, they have powers.
Yes, some of them did use them for evil.
But, many more used them for good.

 
 
 

Just the mere letter X conjures up words like:

eXtreme
eXtraordinary
eXistential
eXtra
eXhilarating
eXciting
eXaggerated
eXceptional
eXceed
eXclude
eXotic
 
These words, like the letter X, are oddities. They often conjure up thoughts of the unusual, overwhelming, and different.
 

 
 

Though the X-men are fictional characters, I often equate myself and several of my friends with the lovable mutants. We stick out in a crowd, don’t react in ways often acceptable to society, have quirks that we find comforting and fun in our circle of equals and yet, we just long for acceptance from others. While we don’t possess supernatural powers, being gifted does separate you in a way that most people don’t understand and it’s not just in an academic, or IQ capacity. We live among you, but you probably wouldn’t recognize our special kind of mutation if you met us on the street. That said, we feel it from an early age. It never goes away.

 

 

“The power of understanding that you are not defective, and you are not alone – that there is a group of people where everything you think is freaky about yourself is actually NORMAL can’t really be described in words.”    ~Ariane Benefit

 
 

Do you know someone who is eXtraordinary, an eXception to the rules?  You just might know someone, or be someone who is gifted. Put your fears aside, and find out more.