A South Carolina teenager was brought to tears on her graduation day when her mom surprised her with a gift she had been working on for 16 years.
In a touching video with more than 1.1 million views on TikTok, Andrea Earl shared the thoughtful gift with her 16-year-old daughter Sofia.
It was a copy of Dr. Seuss’s book Oh, the Places You’ll Go!—but this was no ordinary book. Since Sofia was 2 years old, Earl has been collecting handwritten notes from each of her daughter’s teachers and carefully compiling them inside the book’s pages.
The tradition began when Sofia’s speech therapist first gave her the book, along with a heartfelt note. Earl then quietly continued the tradition, asking each of Sofia’s teachers—year after year—to write a message for her daughter.
“When she began nursery school, her teachers were so enamored with her that I decided to have them sign that book. I had no idea that it was an actual thing that people did back then,” Earl told Newsweek.
“I hardly believe I started a trend, but I loved the tradition of getting each teacher from the time she was 2 to the time she graduated high school to put a special message to her.”
Each year, Earl continued to collect notes from people in Sofia’s life, something that was emotional for her, too: “I would cry every year; she would bring it home, and I would read the message and would hate that I had to wait in anticipation for the one day that she will open and read all these beautiful messages.”
Now aged 18 and graduating from high school, it was time for Sofia to open the book, and in the heartwarming video, she received the gift that was crammed with notes of love, encouragement, and admiration.
Sofia became understandably emotional in the moment, and it has delighted viewers.
“Sofia is autistic, low on the spectrum, but it has been quite the journey through her school years,” Earl said. “What isn’t shown on the video was her getting a special message from her favorite English teacher and Dungeon Master from Dungeons & Dragons. He added extra adventures that she needs to complete.”
In comments on TikTok, people shared their reactions and thoughts on the thoughtful gift.
“As a teacher, I was so honored to be able to write in books like this,” said viewer TXAG90.
Fellow parent TK posted: “I started this with my daughter in Pre-K. Her first grade teacher just signed it. This is so sweet.”
Similarly, Jessie wrote: “I started this for my son when he entered kindergarten, he is only going into 4th but I am excited!”
Earl said: “I have had a TikTok account for a few years, but finally decided to upload this video, so a lot of my friends and family could see it, not knowing it would go viral and reach the hearts of so many people.
“I am very honored that this gift to my daughter is getting the recognition that it has been,” Earl added.
Last year, another woman shared a similar gift to Sofia’s when her mom gave her a book for her 18th birthday that she had all of her teachers write in since she was in kindergarten. In a viral TikTok video sharing the moment, she said the gesture left her “crying so bad.”
The post Mom Works on Gift in Secret—16 Years Later She Finally Gives It to Daughter appeared first on Newsweek.
