Losing a parent at a young age can have a lasting impact on a child’s life. It kind of feels like the child grows up in a minute.
“You had to look at life so much differently than how you would’ve otherwise,” D’Arcy McGrath who lost his mom at the age of 18 told Huffington Post Canada.
Although everyone reacts to parent loss differently, there are some things that are universal, like depression and anxieties that follow the loss.
Uncertainty is one more feeling these children have. One of the people who used to guide them through life is gone, so they are now unsure about how they should keep going.
What is also scary to those children is that they will have to face difficulties in life or even receive all the positive stuff coming their way without their late parent. They will never get the chance to share their dark moments or their biggest achievements, like being accepted at the University.
Skylar Hughes from Georgia lost her mother in 2016 unexpectedly.
This loss certainly left a big scar in the young girl’s soul, but she found the strength to carry on. Her father also helped her overcome the loss of her mother and see the future with optimism again.
Skylar went on to be an exemplary student and young citizen, excelling at school, being a ballet talent, and giving back to the local community by teaching ballet to young girls aged between 5 and 15 years old. Besides that, she has also spent more than 200 hours doing community service, and she would never regret it.
A few weeks ago, Skylar received a reply from Duke University, where she had applied for studies.
The Senior at Grayson High School, Georgia, was ready to read whether or not she had been accepted. But, along with her father who has always been by her side, she wanted her mom to be there in a way, when she found out.
So, she took her dad and went to her mom’s grave to open that email.
“She awaited the acceptance results for 16 anxious hours, just to make sure her mother could be a part of this beautiful moment,” her friend Laniece Blackmon says.
Eventually, she got to her mother’s grave, set up the camera, turned on the laptop and opened that email.
Her father, right next to her, smiling proudly was also anxious about the answer.
And then she sees it: it’s an acceptance email. Her childhood dream is coming true right before her eyes. She is excited and she hugs her dad, who at that point starts crying, too.
Both of them are crying tears of joy, thinking about how all those years of consistent work resulted in the girl being accepted at the University she has always wanted.
The video is really touching and it is a reminder that great things in life only matter when you can share them with your favorite people.
Skylar’s friend, Laniece, has started a GoFundMe for Skylar to help her raise the tuition and fees for her studies. So far, more than 2,5k people have donated to her cause and it is highly probable she will have raised the whole amount by the end of the month. She’s worth it!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
