Epbot Exemplars 6/4/13

Exemplars are geeks who know what they love, and show it with pride. I keep it mostly girl-centric here at Epbot, but I always reserve the right to feature anyone who helps inspire me to be a better me.

Ruth M. recently shared this photo of 2 of her daughters from last Halloween:

Aaaand I just collapsed from the cute. Gimmie a minute.

Here's 7-year-old Allie dressed up for last month's May the 4th:

Oooh, are those blue fiber optics I spy in your tutu, Allie? SHINY.

Oh, and for Free Comic Book Day Allie picked - of course - a Star Wars comic, and her mom Maxine snapped this shot later at home:

 Now this right here makes me happier than all the tutus and Vader masks in the world. READ ON, young Padawan!

Speaking of reading, when 10-year-old Emma's school celebrated Book Week, she decided to dress as Queen Susan from the Narnia series:

LOVE. She and her mom put the costume together from Salvation Army finds, and the bow & arrow are made from water pipes!

Emma's mom, Jane, tells me Emma is also a geology buff - "a real rockhound/ lapidarist" - who spends her birthday money on rocks and gems. So in keeping with that theme she dressed as an Enderman from Minecraft for her "school disco" - which I suspect must be an Australian thing. :)

Rock on, Emma! 

(Hey, painful puns are the best puns.)

And finally, this is AnnaMay:

AnnaMay is 7, and as you can see, she loves superheroes - specifically Wonder Woman and Super Girl. Trouble is, another girl at Anna May's school has been making fun of her for it, to the point that Anna May won't wear her favorite t-shirts (like this one!) anymore.

AnnaMay's mom, Andrea, writes,

"It's not as bad compared to some, but she has generalized anxiety disorder and sensory processing disorder so to her it is HUGE. She is afraid of so much in this world, and I know that the super hero things made her feel a little bit more powerful, and now that has been taken from her, too."

When Andrea mentioned this on a Disney forum she follows, someone there sent her here to Epbot. She wrote to me almost immediately after just to say thanks, but John quickly asked if we could feature AnnaMay. He also asked for a picture, which I'm happy to say is what convinced this little Wonder Girl to put on one of her favorite outfits again, just for us: 

Woot! 

AnnaMay, I know it's not always easy, but I hope you'll keep wearing those t-shirts. After all, geeky shirts are my favorite way to meet new friends! And the next time someone makes fun of you for them, just remember: you've got your very own fan club, right here - and we all love superheroes, too.

Btw, is anyone else DYING to see AnnaMay in a superhero costume now? Whaddaya think, Anna May? Would you rather be Wonder Woman or Super Girl? Let me know, and we'll see what we can make happen by this Halloween and/or your next local convention. (I may not know much about getting a kid's costume together, but I bet I could find some people 'round these parts who do!)

So, in conclusion:

1) The world needs more superheroes. 

2) Sometimes a superhero is someone who tells a random young girl just how awesome her Wonder Woman t-shirt is, or how much you admire her choice of comic books, or her hobby, or her costume.

3) So let's all go be superheros this week.

****

Update from AnnaMay's mom, Andrea: "Thank you so much for all of your comments! AnnaMay has been smiling so big. I am reading them all to her as they are posted. AnnaMay says she would love to be Wonder Woman for Halloween if she could. You all are making me cry happy tears! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!"

(So if any of you skilled costome gurus out there would like to volunteer your help with AnnaMay's costume, please e-mail me! I'll be more than happy to cover your expenses!)

[Wow, I think we've found all the help we need for AnnaMay's costume now, guys! Thank you! And don't worry; of COURSE I'll post a photo once we have one!]