Catherine Malatesta, 16 years old, loved her blue dress in which she went to the ball. Although she suffered from a terrible disease, she managed to wear her dress with a lot of grace and elegance. Her story has inspired so many people that she has become famous. But what makes this dress so special?
Her friends have always been with her, as she has gone through a terrible time, and she made sure that she will have this amazing prom dress, where she built wonderful memories with her and where she went with the love of life.
In this May 29, 2015 photo provided by Jennifer Goodwin, Catherine Malatesta poses at her home in Arlington, Mass., Before attending the junior prom at Arlington High School. After Catherine died from a rare cancer on Aug. 2, 2015, her friends decided each of them would wear Catherine’s gown to their own proms in 2016 to honor her and remember the happiness she exuded on that special night. (Jennifer Goodwin via AP)
Although she is just an ordinary girl, her story is an inspiring one. At the time of the ball, this girl had cancer in the last stage, she was very happy that she would go, because a few months ago she wasn’t sure if she would catch it, the people from the hospital discharged her for a day.
Catherine, who wanted to have all the experiences before she died, told her mother that she felt beautiful for the first time that evening. While she was in the hospital, she always did her homework, kept up with her colleagues, and was voted the president of the student council!
Now her friends honor her memory by wearing the dress in which she felt beautiful for the first and last time in her life. Each of her friends wore her prom dress one at a time each year. They say that because they can each have this part of it, they will heal more easily after they have lost it…
In this Wednesday, May 4, 2016 photo Emma Schambers, 18, of East Greenwich, R.I., wears a prom dress once belonging to her late friend Catherine Malatesta, in front of Schambers’ home in East Greenwich. Malatesta died Aug. 2, 2015 eight months after she was diagnosed with a rare cancer. Schambers, who plans to wear the dress in her upcoming prom, is sharing the dress with three other friends of Catherine’s who are also wearing the dress at their respective proms as part of an effort to keep the memory of Catherine alive. (AP Photo / Steven Senne)
This girl’s dress has become a symbol of friendship, of love for life, of the joy of living, of youth. There are also such teenagers with big hearts who are also capable of stories that can change a life forever!