Most teenagers dream of the day when they will finally get to attend the senior prom. It’s a milestone in almost every high schooler’s life that they’ll remember forever.
They spend months in preparation for the big day and spend hundreds on their prom attire, tickets, transportation, and after parties.
Shannon Purcifer spent $600 on the perfect dress for prom.
However, because of the intense bullying, she incurred because of her bowel disease, she didn’t wear it and ended up not going to prom. But her friends and family weren’t just about to let her miss her big day like that.
So, they invited about 100 people to join her for a special alternative prom event this weekend where she will be escorted to the venue hall by a fleet of scooters to join her family and “true friends.”
“She wants to show the bullies that they won’t win,” Shannon’s mother, Claire, told the Daily Mail. “The night she was supposed to go to her prom she just did nothing. She tried the dress on but it was heartbreaking for her to choose not to go. She had been looking forward to it for months and we bought the dress as far back as February but the bullying got so bad she knew she wouldn’t enjoy it if she went.”
Shannon, who has ulcerative colitis, arthritis and is a coeliac, says she was relentlessly bullied for 18 months.
It included name-calling and intimidation and has also gotten physical at times as well.
“They used to call me the most terrible names,” Shannon told Daily Mail. “I couldn’t even repeat any of them. It was really bad stuff, then it spread to text messages and social media. I had to change my number but somehow they still found me.”
Friends and strangers offered to put the special prom event together after Claire posted a picture of Shannon in her dress explaining what had happened.
“It’s going to be a full prom,” Claire told Mirror. “Some very kind people have offered to do her hair, we’ve got decorations, everything. She’s such a beautiful young girl and I’m so proud of her for sticking two fingers up at the bullies. She wanted to join the Navy like her dad but can’t because of her health so she’s looking into a career in law or engineering.”
Happy prom Shannon, we hope it’s all that you dreamed of!
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