Last week, 10-year-old Evan went to school dressed in a brilliant costume: TONY STARK.
His costume was on-point and he was ready to seize the day as our beloved Iron Man (even though he had to take the bus instead of a Mercedes):
However, his excitement quickly turned to sadness after kids made fun of his costume on the bus ride to school. The comments were so hurtful that the school noticed how upset Evan was and decided to call his mom.
Evan's mom, Jill, shared the series of events on her Facebook page, where the posts went viral with hundreds of thousands of shares. BuzzFeed spoke to Jill, who said that when she received the call, she talked to Evan, who was crying and so upset that he didn't want to stay for his class's Halloween party.
"When I dropped him off that morning, he ran to the bus SO excited to show off his awesome costume. When I arrived to get him, he had washed his face paint off and looked defeated. I was heartbroken. He apologized for washing the goatee off and just wanted to leave," she said.
However, after a trip to Starbucks to talk through his feelings, Evan decided not let the bullies affect him. Jill redid his makeup and drove him back to school for his party:
While all of this was transpiring, Evan was getting so much support through Jill's posts online...
...And even though Evan wasn't physically bullied, Jill wants people to know that words hurt. "Always have talks about bullying, especially this time of year when kids are dressing up and letting themselves be even more vulnerable. The messages of pure love and support from around the world have shown Evan (and us) that there are far more kind people in this world than there are bullies," she told BuzzFeed.
Jill said that Evan has learned so much from this experience. It has taught him to always choose his words wisely because he never wants to make someone feel the way he did, and it has taught him to never let other peoples' opinions influence the way he feels.
Many people have asked about sending Evan a card. If they want to do so, the address is PO Box 362, Cottleville, MO 63338. Cheers to the best Iron Man there ever was!
OK, Robert Downey Jr., now we are waiting for you to tell Evan just how amazing his costume truly was!
