Prom night is such an important milestone for many students. It’s a time to get dressed up, party with your friends and dance the night away.
It’s also a step toward becoming an adult and it’s always a memorable moment full of joy, smiles and anticipation. But for some teenagers prom night is remembered for unfortunate reasons.
For high school student Jackson Loop, his prom night would be an evening he would never forget. But the reason for this may not be what you think.
Jackson and his friends had been making plans for the prom months before the big night. On the morning of the big day he received a text saying the group planned to meet early for pre-prom pictures. So Jackson waited to get picked up in his tailor-made suit he had bought especially for the occasion.
He waited … and waited … and waited … but Jackson’s “friends” never appeared. He called them, he texted them, but no one answered. He was completely crushed.
His mother, Sheila, said she had never experienced such pain watching her son completely heartbroken.
“His younger brother and sister and I watched him as he started to realize that he was being ditched and I have to tell you that in my 18 yrs of parenting I have never felt so much pain. It was mixed with an indescribable amount of rage. This was… painful. Then, after he changed out of his suit, he saw all of their pre-prom pictures on Facebook, and he all but collapsed in the kitchen,” says Mom Sheila, according to Yahoo Lifestyle.
After he had calmed down, Jackson told his mom that he was not surprised that his classmates – that he thought were his friends – had treated him so terribly.
He had often told his mother that he felt like an “invisible, throwaway loser.” His whole life she’d witnessed his struggle to fit in. He wanted so desperately be a part of the group.
Band gang excluded him
“He’s always been on the fringe and really wanted to be part of a group,” Sheila told Yahoo Lifestyle. “It wasn’t until high school band where we thought, ‘Oh, great! There’s going to be band kids!’”
But the band friends weren’t really his friends and often left him out of group activities.
Jackson felt his so-called friends had betrayed him, but wait; there’s a happy ending to this story.
Some younger band members found out what happened and decided to fix things. One of those awesome young people was Sophie who heard what happened to Jackson and came up with a plan.
Sophie asked Sheila to hide Jackson’s suit in the trunk of her car, on Memorial Day. Then Sophie invited Jackson to this big party, to hang out with her and some other friends. But when he got there, Sophie had prepared something Jackson was not ready for … The teenagers stood there in their best dresses and suits and shouted: “Happy Fake Prom!”
Jackson said: “I was flabbergasted. I didn’t know how to respond. I’m in the bathroom changing [into my suit] and I kind of shed a tear a little bit, because no one has ever done this for me, really ever. … This is what it means to receive a gift from friends who are doing something, particularly for me.”
It was a day filled with laughter, joy and love. Jackson posed for pictures with his genuine and new group of friends. They even had a special cake made to enjoy.
By telling his story, Jackson (and his mom) wants to help others realize that they should choose their friends carefully, and make sure they treat you kindly. If they do not — do like Jackson did and get new, real friends. Jackson’s new friends knew exactly what he needed when he was down.
These teens are an excellent example of how we can all act and lift others when they are down. Please share this special story on Facebook.
