This mum wrote a heartfelt open letter to the make-up assistant who gave her bullied teenage daughter back her confidence
One of the hardest things parents have to face when their children hit their teenage years is not what you might initially think of.
It's not the tantrums that you thought had stopped after they hit the age of four.
It's not the smelly and untidy bedrooms that you think should have a health hazard warning over the door.
It's when your precious baby comes home from school crying because one of their peers has started bullying them.
For mums and dads, you only wish that your son or daughter could see just how truly wonderful and amazing they are.
But when they are relentlessly being told otherwise throughout their day, it can be hard for them to take it in or believe it.
And that's what one mum from Windsor, Ontario found.
No matter how much she told her 15-year-old daughter she was beautiful, she just wouldn't or couldn't believe it - as she was being relentlessly being told she was ugly by the other girls at her school.
It was getting to the point where the young girl was asking her mum to wax her naturally thick eyebrows due to the comments from the girls at school.
So the mum took her shopping for make-up in their local Sephora to try and boost her confidence.
But it wasn't the make-up that made her feel beautiful again - it was the assistant who went out of her way to help.
The unnamed mother wrote on her local community's forum named Spotted In Windsor: "My daughter is 15-years-old and is having a very hard time with her self-esteem.
"She has been relentlessly ridiculed by many of the 'young ladies' (trying to be delicate with my wording) she now goes to school with. They pick on her for her clothing, her skin, her voice, her hair, her eyebrows, the list goes on.
"It breaks my heart to say that this bullying has convinced my beautiful daughter that she is ugly, and her formerly outgoing and peppy personality has dimmed."
The mum's heartbreaking words are something that almost all parents will be able to relate to.
She goes on to say how they chose to tackle the problem: "At her request, we went to the Sephora inside Devonshire mall a few days ago to pick up some light make-up, hoping it would make her feel more comfortable at school and that some of the snide remarks from the other girls would subside."
Like nearly all parents with daughters, she was initially not happy with the thought of her little girl wearing make-up: "I was against this at first, but if there was a possibility of it boosting her confidence, I decided it would be alright."
She wrote: "We had been in the store for a bit when a young girl approached us and asked us if there was anything she could help us with."
The mum and her daughter initially judged the assistant: "She was a petite blonde girl, absolutely stunning, and fit almost all of the criteria (from the outside) as the type of girls who pick on my daughter.
"Both myself and my daughter sometimes feel intimidated in this store - the girls are often made up beautifully, they exude confidence. For someone new to make-up, or someone with pre-existing self-esteem issues, it's easy to feel somehow inferior, regardless of their sunny disposition.
"This time, I was blown away."
The mum revealed that her knowledge of the products, whilst exemplary, was not what blew her away: "More than anything her kindness towards my daughter was what stunned me.
"I feel as though she somehow caught onto my daughter's struggles with self-esteem during our conversation, and she went above and beyond to make her feel comfortable in her own skin.
"She pointed out the areas that my daughter has been most insecure about lately; like her full brows, her curly hair - the things I've been trying to convince her not to change about herself - and expressed how beautiful she thought they were. SERIOUSLY girl, are you psychic???"
The mum emotionally adds that the assistant wne above and beyond what they would normally expect: "She took the time to truly relate to my daughter. They talked about what had been going on at school, self-confidence, what truly makes a person beautiful, and how make-up is just something to enhance your natural beauty.
"These are things I've been trying unsuccessfully to convey. She was so genuine, kind-hearted and thoughtful."
The mum was moved by her ability to make her daughter feel so at ease: "They even joked around a bit, and I saw my daughter light up and act silly for the first time in MONTHS.
"It's crazy how a 20-minute interaction can make such an impact. So, Shayna, I hope you see this, and from me and my daughter (who is no longer begging me to let her wax her eyebrows), a sincere and heartfelt thank you for your beautiful spirit."
Shayna has since been identified as Shayna Bojaniwski, who wrote on Facebook: "I just wanted to say thank you for everyone's kind comments. I'm honestly speechless after all the love and sweet messages I've received today... Both from my friends/family but complete strangers too.
"Sounds cliché but I honestly just did what I would expect anyone else to do in that kind of situation and what I wish someone had done for me a few years ago. To that little girl: I hope you've been feeling better, come see me again soon!"
Excuse us, we have something in our eyes...
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