In May 2017, a Seattle-based radio DJ named John Richards received an emotional letter from a mom who lived a couple thousand miles away in Chicago.
Sheila Loop explained how her teenage son Jackson always felt like an outcast. It wasn't until high school that he finally found a kinship among the band students.
Jackson was so excited to go to prom with his senior friends from band. They were supposed to meet up before the dance to take photos as a group. Jackson was so excited that he ordered a custom-tailored suit.
But just a few hours before prom, Jackson received a text saying the pre-prom photos were canceled. Instead, his friends said they'd just pick him up at his house and go straight to the dance.
Hours passed by. His friends stopped responding to his calls and texts. Nobody ever came to pick him up.
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When Jackson realized he'd been ditched by his so-called friends, Sheila and the rest of their family watched him all but collapse in the kitchen.
A few days later came the surprise no one saw coming, and Sheila was more than happy to be "in" on it…
John Richards is an influential DJ for KEXP, a widely popular radio station based in Seattle.
One day, John received a letter from a mother in Chicago named Sheila Loop. Her letter was regarding her son Jackson, a senior in high school.
In addition to the letter, Sheila also had a song request for the DJ: "All My Friends" by LCD Soundsystem.
John would soon come to learn why this particular song was so meaningful for Sheila and her son.
Sheila explained that on Saturday, May 26, Jackson was getting ready for prom night.
He and his senior friends from band class, along with their dates, were all meeting up at someone's house to take pre-prom photos as a group.
Jackson was so excited that he even ordered a custom-tailored suit for the big occasion.
Prom was a particularly important night for Jackson because he had often felt like an outcast at school… like the odd man out.
For most of his adolescence, Sheila watched her kindhearted son struggle to fit in with his peers. He longed to be part of a tight-knit group of friends.
When high school came around, Sheila was hopeful that he'd finally find acceptance and kinship among the band kids.
But just a few hours before prom, Jackson received a group text. His friends said the pre-prom photoshoot was suddenly cancelled.
Instead, they'd just pick him up at his house before the dance.
Hours passed by. Jackson eagerly waited until 6 p.m., but his friends stopped responding to his calls and texts.
Jackson sat there at home in his brand new suit, all alone.
"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 years of parenting I have never felt so much pain," Sheila said.
"It was mixed with an indescribable amount of rage."
After changing out of his suit and trying to come to terms with the fact he'd been stood-up, Jackson logged onto Facebook.
Staring back at him on the screen were his "friends," smiling and posing together in their prom outfits. They had met up to take their group photos after all… they just didn't include Jackson.
Sheila said her heartbroken son "all but collapsed in the kitchen."
But then came the surprise no one saw coming.
A couple days later, Sheila received a text message from a girl named Sophie. Sophie was in Jackson's band class, but she was a junior.
The juniors in the band heard about Jackson's ruined prom night.
Sophie asked Sheila to secretly place Jackson's custom suit in the trunk of his car
She then told Sheila that Jackson was invited to a friend's house that following Monday, which was Memorial Day.
Jackson assumed it was just a casual gathering and was happy to oblige.
When he arrived that Memorial Day, he saw a group of juniors from his band class all dressed up in their formalwear.
They told him to look in his trunk — where he unexpectedly found his suit.
The friends spent all day posing for "do-over" prom photos and eating a "fake prom" cookie cake.
John, the radio DJ at KEXP, was so touched by Sheila's story that he posted it to Twitter where it went viral.
"Take a second to get to know some amazing kids who, on a Monday, changed one life," he wrote.
"This is MUST LISTEN/READ. I'm not crying, you're crying."
In an article for Yahoo! Lifestyle, writer Sabrina Rojas Weiss says Jackson's prom experience has taught him so much about friendship.
“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,” Jackson says. “Listen to your gut. If you feel pissed off about something and feel like they’re not treating you well, then you’re probably right. It took me a long time to figure that out.”
"You’re going to find plenty of people that will find you interesting and will actually care about you in the end."
“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. Even outside of our country.”
Jackson's family is now thanking his real friends for taking care of him and giving him the prom of his dreams.
