This past week saw one of the deadliest mass shootings in American History. So did the week prior. There has been so much tragedy in our news cycle recently, it can be hard to process.
One of the twenty-one victims at Rabb Elementary in Uvalde, TX was 10-year-old Tess Marie Mata. Mata’s family has shared that though she was too young to have an account, Marie had dreams of one day going viral on TikTok. Her parents, alongside notable figures like Paris Hilton and N*Sync’s Lance Bass, have taken it upon themselves to fulfill this dream… and they’re asking for our help!
Tess' uncle, Robert Hill, told reporters Monday that she had dreamed of having one of her dance videos go viral on TikTok. However, due to the fact that users on the platform must be at least 13 years old to create an account, Hill said Tess would make videos and save them to her mother, Veronica's account.
The family picked one of their favorites -- a video of Tess doing a popular dance routine to Don Toliver's song "No Idea" -- to share.
Veronica posted the video last week with the caption: "My sweet baby girl. She was taken from us because of a senseless act in a mass shooting. I never allowed Tess to post her videos because she was so young. But today I want to celebrate her by trying to fulfill her wish by becoming TikTok famous. #uvaldestrong."
As of Tuesday afternoon, the post has garnered 30k+ likes, 2k+ comments, and been shared thousands & thousands of times.
Please take a moment to honor the dream of this dancer taken too soon.