Struggling Teen Cries After Her Friend’s Mom Offers To Take Her Prom Dress Shopping Because Her Own Mom Passed Away
She deserves a night of magic.
Donald Teel / Unsplash As high school seniors prepare to graduate and move on to the next phase of their lives, one particular ritual contains a huge amount of meaning: going to prom.
In many ways, the prom is more than just a dance. It’s a celebration of how far students have come and how far they will go after leaving school. It’s a way to send 18-year-olds into their future while wearing beautiful dresses and blooming corsages.
Yet, for all the potential joy prom holds, it can also be a hard time for teenagers, especially those who’ve lost a parent.
One struggling teen cried after her friend’s mom offered to take her prom dress shopping because her own mom passed away.
The 18-year-old named Ava shared a video of herself sobbing, overwhelmed with emotion, all due to her friend’s mom's kind gesture.
“My mom died when I was 7,” the text on the TikTok read. “My only friend from school told his mom I don’t have money for a dress for prom, and she offered to take me shopping.”
The weight of the situation seemed almost too much for Ava to process. The sheer intensity of her emotion revealed how much her friend's mom’s generosity meant to her.
In times of trouble and need, it’s important for young people to have adults in their lives who will step up and step in for parents who aren’t present for whatever reason.
Photo: Efren Barahona / Unsplash
This mom's offer to buy Ava a prom dress emphasizes the importance of fostering connections with people outside of our immediate families. Relying on our communities can provide a wellspring of support.
Ava also made an emotional post about the milestones she wasn’t able to share with her mom.
“I need my mom,” the first part of the post was titled. The next part read, “Need? You raised yourself.”
Photo: Marcus Lewis / Unsplash
“You have no pictures of her. She chased the dragon over you, and you missed dress shopping, bra shopping, makeup, muffins with mom, spa days,” the post continued. “You did everything you needed to do without her.”
Despite her resilience, Ava’s vulnerable post shows how deeply affected she’s been by the loss of her mom.
It’s never easy to reveal the parts of us that are hurting. By opening up and expressing that side of herself, Ava was able to pinpoint the smaller yet equally valid losses she’s felt since her mother’s passing: spending time together and learning how to be a young adult in a large, often difficult world.
In an earlier post, Ava shared another side of her heartbreak, explaining how she was offered a ticket to prom just weeks before the event and could not buy a dress for it.
“I wish I could look like all the rest of the pretty girls going to prom,” she wrote, highlighting the importance of feeling good in how you present yourself to boost confidence and foster strong self-esteem.
Ava updated her prom story, sharing that she was going dress shopping soon and expressing her deep gratitude for the attention her posts received.
“I’m really appreciative of anybody who supported that video that blew up that I posted,” she said, on the verge of tears. “I can afford to go to prom this year, now.”
“I originally wasn’t gonna go because me and my boyfriend are trying to get our own apartment, and we’re on a time crunch, and there’s a lot more to it that the internet doesn’t need to worry about, but I couldn’t make the necessary expense,” she explained.
She addressed her followers, saying, “You guys kinda [expletive] made it happen, and I appreciate that.”
For all the challenges Ava’s experienced since losing her mom, she deserves time to just be a teen, to dance and dress up, and to forget about the heavier parts of the world, even if only for one night.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers social issues, pop culture analysis, and all things to do with the entertainment industry.