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grief

justice_4justin/Instagram

Justin Etienne's mother Tierra Neil presents his prom date Reyaa with corsage he picked out for her.

Prom is one of the most memorable parts of high school. But for student Justin Etienne, an 18- year-old senior at Salem High School in metro Atlanta, it was a milestone that was missed by a just a few weeks. Etienne, a victim of gun violence, passed away in March 2025.

Etienne had planned to go to prom with his date, Reyaa. In an emotional new video shared by Etienne's family (@justice_4justin), his mom, Tierra Neil, followed through to deliver the corsage Etienne had picked out for her for their special night weeks before his passing.

"My heart goes out to all the moms and families mourning loved ones lost🙏 Justin’s mom went to see his prom date off to prom and to give her the corsage he got for her🥺🕊️💕‼️💔," the caption of the video reads.

In the video, Neil arrives at Reyaa's home with the corsage in her hands. She knocks on their door, and after her family opens it, Neil is immediately overwhelmed with emotion. She is met with a hug, and comes inside the home.

Reyaa is waiting for her in a stunning pink gown that has Etienne's face on the front of it. Reyaa is wiping tears away from her eyes as she and Neil share a long hug together.

Neil takes a moment to look at Reyaa's dress and the photo of Etienne. Then she bravely takes the corsage out of the box, and places it on her wrist. Neil tells her, "You look so pretty," and continues to admire her gown that was designed specially for her by her uncle, Kyle Robertson.

The tearjerker video received an overwhelming response from viewers in the comment section. "When she sees the picture on the dress! She knew her son chose a good one which brings on a whole new hurt. Bless these women," one wrote. Another added, "The fact that she found the strength 🙏🏽🥹." Another shared, "My heart breaks in a million pieces for his mom. Justin should be here going to prom getting ready to graduate! 😢"

In another post, Etienne's family shared more details about Etienne and Reyaa. "Before Justin passed he asked this beautiful young lady to prom and she said YES!! Her designer made her prom dress with his picture on it and even her nails has his name on it!!!" they wrote.

In another post shared on her Instagram, Reyaa also opened up about her experience at prom honoring Etienne. "A Night I’ll Never Forget With a Person I’ll Always Remember💔🕊️," she wrote. "And thank you for the encouragement and push to follow through with this for Justin...And Justin, mann we DEFINITELY showed out in our rose gold! I miss you so much man so much, but I know you were with me🥹!"

Etienne's family has started a GoFundMe account to support his memorial and parents during this difficult time, and shared more about who Etienne was. "Justin was one of the kindest souls you could ever meet—quiet, funny, always full of joy, and never one to argue or cause trouble. He had a bright future ahead of him, and his life was stolen far too soon."

@kidds_dad/Instagram

Eric @kidds_dad writes letter to brother who passed away 10 years ago.

Losing a sibling is a pain that never fully fades. Grief looks and feels different depending on the year, month or day, but keeping the memory alive of a lost loved one is a one way to keep healing.

Eric (@kidds_dad) shared an emotional video with his followers on Instagram that he wrote to his older brother Reagan, who passed away 10 years ago. He details how he's worked to keep his memory alive for his kids in their daily lives, and how he still misses him to this day.

He captioned the video with a simple, "A letter to my brother." Then, he begins to read the letter in the video. "Dear Reagan, it has now been 10 years since you've been gone, and I figured I'd fill you in.

Eric continues, "We left off with me about to start dating, and though I always looked forward to be able to have your dating advice, somehow I lucked out and i met the woman of my dreams and my best friend. She's weird and pretty cool, so I think you'd like her," he says.

The video plays a montage of videos of Eric cleaning off his brother's grave and hanging out with his two kids, and he continues to share. "Since then I've moved away, graduated school and i had a baby. And in fact, I had two babies," he says. "I got my motorcycle endorsement just like you, and I make sure to ride your bike all the time so it's still running well. When I'm feeling sad, I'll still play Regina Spector "The Call" and still do our little dance that we had."

In another clip, Eric lights candles on a birthday cake. "We still sing 'Happy Birthday' to you every year and make a cake, and it's always so fun. I just wish you could be there with us, that's all. I hate to break it to you, but I don't think the All American Rejects are relevant anymore, but don't worry I still listen to them. Although the bedazzled jeans, we had to let those go. Sorry man."

Eric also explains that he named one of his sons after Reagan. "The son we named after you started asking how you died. I haven't figured out yet how to have that conversation with him yet or how to explain, but I take every opportunity I can to share stories with him and listen to your music with him. He's a big fan, by the way. So, if you ever want to make more, let me know."

He ends the video with a heartfelt message of longing for his brother. "I miss you every single day. Hope you write back. Bye, Reagan," he says.

Viewers responded to his sweet video with heartfelt messages.

"You keep him alive so beautifully. He’d be so proud of you. Sending 💛," one wrote.

"I think your brother would have been so proud 👏," another added.

"I know there’s nothing anyone can say to make your hurt go away, but I know with my whole heart that your brother is so very proud of you each and every day, even if he’s no longer physically on this earth with you anymore. Hang in there!!" shared another.

Gina Chick shares her grief journey on The Imperfect Podcast.

Losing a child is every parent's worst fear, one that most of us don't dare try to imagine. But it happens, and there's wisdom in listening to those who have experienced it rather than avoiding the subject altogether. Everyone's grief journey is different, of course, and bereaved parents may be at any phase of that journey at any given time, but it's enlightening to hear from someone who's traveled far enough down their own path of grief to be able to reflect and put into words how it's affected them.

Australian author and Alone Australia winner Gina Chick is one of those people. She lost her three-year-old daughter Blaise to cancer 10 years ago and shares what coming to terms with that loss has been like for her.

"Having and losing Blaise has given me the resilience to dance with life in ways I never would have imagined," Chick wrote for ABC Australia in 2023. "Dancing with grief over the past decade has taught me how to be with what is, rather than what I wish could be. Or should be. It's taught me to turn a challenge inside out to find the blessing in the lesson."

Chick, who spent 67 days alone in the Tasmanian wilderness to win on Alone, was a guest onThe Imperfect Podcast.. When the host asked her what it's like to lose a child, her response was just beautiful.

"I can't say what it's like to lose a child, but I can say what it's like to lose mine," she said. "The actual losing part, death, is such a doorway. And a body without someone in it is like, oh, like I understood life by having my daughter not have it in her body anymore."

"It was such a visceral and profound experience. To be able to midwife her out of life with the same presence that we brought her in was beautiful," she said. "And I said yes. I said yes to the grief. I said yes to that journey. And it meant that whenever I was grieving, I just went with it."

Chick explains that she has expressed her grief in every possible way, which is what makes her able to talk about it so calmly now.

"I can honestly say that having her was the greatest gift of my life, and losing her was the second greatest gift of my life," she said. "Because of her and because of losing her, I am stronger, I am calmer, I have more presence, I have more ability to hold people, I have more compassion. I'm a much better human. And the gift of her leaving is a gift that I walk around with every day, so every person who I touch or speak to, that's her. So, it's like her gift is me in the world, or me in the world is her gift."

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

People were deeply moved by her answer.

"I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything this profound and beautiful and brutal and uplifting."

"Beautiful words ❤️ I feel this very much! I lost my angel daughter 14 months ago."

"I'm stunned by this post that I just found while randomly scrolling. Your words have spoken what I have felt in my heart, but can rarely verbalise accurately. Kissing my son's forehead while he laid on the mortuary bench, I've never shaken off the knowing that even though I was holding and kissing him, *he* wasn't there. Also, I rarely say this, but perversely, his loss was the greatest gift I've ever had. His loss taught me about love and humanity in a way that I would never have learned in an entire lifetime of living. Thank you for this wonderful post. You've touched the heart of a stranger in Ireland with this, and I am grateful to you for it."

"Wow. this woman is the embodiment of what it is to be able to appreciate the depth of tragedy, sit with it, process it, and come out on the other side with having your understanding transformed without your heart being hardened. It's such a rare thing to be able to witness - thank you for sharing!"

grief, death, loss, gina chick, aloneGrieving the loss of a loved one is uniquely personal.Photo credit: Canva

Many people who have lost children or other close loved ones shared that Chick's words brought them a sense of peace. But the writer had more to say, adding additional commentary to her video after thousands of people responded.

"I’d like to add something, for anyone who is going through deep loss and has been touched or triggered by this reel…

Losing someone who is woven into your cells, your being, your entire life, is something I would never want anyone to feel. And yet, so many of us are here. Feeling the unfeelable. Accepting the unacceptable. Thinking the unthinkable. Bearing the unbearable.

I do not for one second think or say my journey is like anyone else’s. Grief is as individual as a fingerprint. A heart print. We all do the best we can with what we have. Sometimes hopeless, sometimes numb, sometimes rage full, sometimes graceful, mostly graceless and clumsy and awful. Often all of these in one day. Hanging on by our fingernails. One day at a time.

In this clip I’ve spoken only about my journey and lessons. I don’t presume for a heartbeat that anyone else will have the same response. Grief has its own mystery.

For me, part of my journey has been a gradual acceptance of the gifts of grief. Grief is the flipside of the coin of love. The size of our grief is the size of our love for that which has been lost. That’s how big the pain is.

grief, love, grieving losing a loved one, losing a child, gina chick"Grief is the flipside of the coin of love." - Gina ChickPhoto credit: Canva

Leaning into it has brought me solace. For others it may be the opposite. Whatever gets us through, that’s all that matters.

We live in a culture that has lost its rituals and ceremonies. We don’t have a roadmap for grief.
People don’t know what to say to us. We can feel alone and lost.

I send deepest love and respect to anyone on this path of raw pure pain and loss, however it looks. I can’t know your individual flavour of pain, but I send you love, and I say I see you, and this sucks so hard, and I’m sorry you’re going through this, and I hope you find some peace, somewhere, in the storm.

The gifts I’ve discovered here for myself are wrought in blood and anguish. I’ve collected them slowly, and they give me stepping stones through my grief. But I would be horrified to think anyone would compare their own process and think this is right or wrong. It’s just my way. Every path is the right one, because it’s ours.

grief, grief journey, path of healing, losing a loved one, gina chick"Every path is the right one, because it’s ours." - Gina ChickPhoto credit: Canva

I urge everyone on this thread to treat each other’s paths and hearts with exquisite kindness. The pain of losing someone who is part of you is indescribable.

Let’s hold each other with tenderness and compassion, and be each other’s lights in the dark."

You can find more of Gina's grief journey in her book, We Are the Stars: A misfit's story of love, connection and the glorious power of letting go on her website ginachick.com. And you can find her full interview on The Imperfect Podcast.

Joy

Woman shares the one heartwarming request she got while visiting a nursing home

A beautiful story reminding us that some things never change.

@brittanydspivey/TikTok

We need more stories like this.

When vocal coach Brittany Spivey’s mother passed away in 2022, she began sharing her grief journey—and all the discoveries and transformation it brought—online. Including one particularly lovely story involving her visits to a nursing home.

As Spivey explains in the video below, once her mother had passed, she no longer had living parents, or grandparents, which prompted her to start making visits to her local nursing home. She arrived with flowers in hand and asked the front desk person which residents haven’t had many visitors in awhile.

Much to her surprise, the front desk worker replied that most residents don’t get visitation all that often. That day, Spivey was assigned two sisters, each of whom hadn’t expected anyone to come. After chatting together for a few hours, Spivey had “fallen in love” with each of them, and felt like she had been “sitting with her grandma and mom all over again.”

@brittanydspivey If youre in the mood for a beautiful story time 🥹🫶🏾❤️ #storytime #nursinghome #family ♬ The Song of Angels - Before the Throne

Pretty soon, Spivey began making regular visits, which included dropping off occasional gifts. To make sure she was actually getting her gal pals something they’d enjoy, she asked them, “Is there anything you need?”

Their response? “Girly things”: Butterfly hairclips, lip gloss, hair bows, little accessories, even a jewelry making kit. Not the basic toiletries or clothing items Spivey anticipated, but full-on kiddie toys.

Of course, Spivey was happy to oblige. The next day she and her daughter arrived with little trinkets to help make them “feel like the girls that they are.” And after that, the sisters got so excited each time they would see her.

“It was so beautiful. I miss my mom… I miss my grandma…so beautiful because I still get to have that relationship,” Spivey concludes> She then encourages everyone, but especially those who have lost a loved one, to dedicate a free day to their local nursing home or assisted living facility, and particularly to seek out the residents who don't get regular visitors.

@brittanydspivey 🥹❤️🫶🏾🫶🏾🫶🏾🫶🏾
♬ flower day - jeanie

Spivey’s story certainly touched many viewers, and even inspired a few folks to follow in her footsteps.

“Because of this, I have volunteered for a nursing home this Thursday. Thank you.”

“I’m gonna volunteer. I’m going to be unemployed and it sounds like a beautiful way to connect. We’re human and want connections.”

Others chimed in to share their own beautiful experiences.

@brittanydspivey Replying to @earthtotiana this comment makes me SOOOO happy ! 🥹🫶🏾❤️ Heres another update! #nursinghome #love #family ♬ Secret Place - Deeper Soaking Worship


“I did this. I met a man who cried every time I left, and forgot me every time I came. He showed me photos one day, and I realized he was my neighbor from across the street when I was a kid.”

“I became penpals with a man in a nursing home during Covid. We wrote to each other every week for three years. He passed away a year ago and I miss Harold every day.”

A few nursing home workers also noted how it is indeed a precious thing when someone visits, and how easy it really is to make their day: “I work at a nursing home, especially with dementia residents. No one visits them, and all they do is pace around the halls calling out for loved ones. It’s heartbreaking.”

“I work at a nursing home. It’s so true! They just want love, someone who listens to them, and simple things.”

This story beautifully captures how with age comes a return to childlike joy. Many of us in our inherent (and taught) fear of growing older forget that it also comes with this blessing. It also reminds us that while we might not be able to physically interact with those who have moved on, we can still experience the deep connections created by those relationships if we only seek them out.