Senior prom is a night most students never forget. We’ve all looked forward to this moment, were we look back on our high school years and party along with our friends for the last time before heading to college. The search for the perfect suit or dresses, the awesome ride with the limo and the great photos are also part of that night, making it an unforgettable event for high school students.
But for one student, prom night was a night he would remember for all the right reasons. Even so, karma was on his side when days later he got the surprise of his life! Band Friends Invited Him to Join Them on Prom Day Jackson was eager for the day of the prom to get closer. Mostly a loner, he was surprised his high school band friends had invited him to tag along. It added to the overall excitement, but as the prom day came, that joy turned into utter disappointment.
You might wonder what was so wrong with the invitation. Well, Jackson would soon learn that he’d been pranked and it was all just a bad joke. But what his ‘friends’ didn’t know was that everything will backfire. Here are Jackson Loop’s failed prom and the grand surprise that showed him not all people are mean.
The prom night was approaching and Jackson had no idea what to do and who to go with. He already went to pick a suit and the anticipation was so stressful. Even his mother Sheila noticed his excitement.
For a teenager, there’s a strong need of feeling like you belong to a group, and Jackson finally felt like he was going to have the night of his life.
Preparing for the prom took weeks of organizing, looking for clothes and shoes. It was Jackson’s first prom and he wanted to look perfect.
The morning of the prom arrived and he wondered if he’d have someone to dance with or what kind of music will be played. You see, Jackson loved music.
As we mentioned earlier, Jackson is part of the high school band and his bandmates announced him they would later call him that day to meet and take some photos before the prom.
So, Jackson waited…
The afternoon passed and Jackson was waiting for a text from his bandmates.
Were his friends behind schedule? He then waited for a few more hours and then it dawned on him.
Before we tell you what happened after, let’s go forward a few days later when John Richards, a DJ for Seattle radio station KEXP read Sheila Loop’s emotional letter.
Before reading it, Richards played the mom’s requested song - “All My Friends” by LCD Soundsystem. Here’s what made Jackson’s prom day so special and why his story went viral.
“Take a second to get to know some amazing kids who, on a Monday, changed one life. This is MUST LISTEN/READ.
I'm not crying, you're crying,” Tweeted John Richards about Jackson Loop. Now let’s go back to the prom day and you’ll understand why everyone is crying over here…
“He waited, and he waited, and he waited,” explained Sheila adding that, “no one responded to his texts or picked up his calls.
His younger brother and sister and I watched him as he started to realize that he was being ditched.” Was he indeed dumped by his friends?
As night came and hours kept passing, it was clear that Jackson had been stood up by the bandmates.
“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,” said Sheila. Then, she and Jackson saw a heartbreaking post on Facebook and she couldn’t stand it anymore!
“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,” explained Sheila.
Jackson was tricked into thinking he’d join the bandmates and they just pranked him, confirming he was “an invisible, throwaway loser.” What happened a few days after that is the highlight of Jackson’s story.
Not all teens are popular, as we’re all aware of. And Jackson was always on the fringe, earning to be part of a group, explained Sheila.
Then, high school came and belonging to the band could have fixed this issue. But the bandmates were not just unfriendly. They were jerks!
All throughout the high school years, Jackson’s bandmates mocked him, took trips without inviting him and making him feel miserable.
Despite their behavior, Jackson tried to get along with them. Then, he thought he was to blame for how they treated him…
“I’ve been kind of blind about it,” Jackson said, explaining that he, “kind of showed them how to treat me.”
But deep down, he hated being the one in the back, tagging along and not having them talk to him.
The night of the prom, Sheila received a text message from a girl in the Junior Band called Sophie.
She asked the mom to sneak Jackson’s prom suit in the trunk of his car on that Monday, which was Memorial Day. These awesome kids had a plan.
Angered about the prom night, Jackson woke up early that Monday to go to the gym and blow off some steam.
He felt betrayed and for a good reason, but he had no idea that the junior Band had a surprise for him!
As Jackson headed to Sophie’s house, he saw all the Junior Band members yelling at him “Happy Fake Prom!”
They were all wearing their suits and dresses and even showed up with a cake!
Sophie then told Jackson about his suit being in the trunk and, with a stunned face, he went to change in the bathroom: “I’m in the bathroom changing and I kind of shed a tear a little bit.” Sophie then told Jackson about his suit being in the trunk and, with a stunned face, he went to change in the bathroom: “I’m in the bathroom changing and I kind of shed a tear a little bit.”
“This is what it means to receive a gift from friends who are doing something, particularly for me,” said Jackson, learning who his true friends really were! And then the Senior Band members contact him… “This is what it means to receive a gift from friends who are doing something, particularly for me,” said Jackson, learning who his true friends really were!
The photos posted by Jackson along with a message got so viral even his Senior Bandmates contacted him to say they were sorry.
But he knew they really weren’t. That day, Jackson learned who are your true friends.
Jackson ended up the wiser in this story, saying that “you may feel like you belong in a place and you’re in a great group of friends, but make sure that they’re taking care of you as well.”
It took me a long time to figure that out.” Jackson said about him realizing the senior band members were not his friends at all.
Jackson concluded that “there are 7 or 8 billion people; at the same time, we feel like we’re isolated with these few groups of people, and if they’re gone or you decide not to be friends, then you’re alone.
But there are plenty of people out there.”
It’s so great Jackson’s life was turned around by a simple kind gesture from the junior band members who had his back that Monday!
