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After Their Daughter Died, They Went to Clean Out Her Apartment. What the Parents Found Inside Her Makeup Bag Was Life-Changing.
(Image source: CBS Evening News)

After Their Daughter Died, They Went to Clean Out Her Apartment. What the Parents Found Inside Her Makeup Bag Was Life-Changing.

"I opened up a drawer..."

They lost her to an alleged drunk driver.

Kristina Chesterman, a 21-years-old aspiring nurse, was killed while riding her bicycle home after a long day of studying last September.

Image source: CBS Evening News Kristina Chesterman was killed at the age of 21-years-old by an alleged drunk driver. (Image source: CBS Evening News)

Her parents were then presented with the task no parent should have to carry out: cleaning their deceased daughter's apartment.

They could have never guessed, however, what they'd find.

"I opened up a drawer and I found just this makeup bag," her mom Sandra told CBS News.

(Image source: CBS Evening News) While cleaning out the apartment of their deceased daughter, two parents found something tucked away inside her makeup bag. (Image source: CBS Evening News)

There was no makeup. Instead, tucked away inside the bag was one folded piece of lined paper: Kristina's bucket list.

"I mean what kid writes a bucket list? There's not many," Sandra said.

(Image source: CBS Evening News) Tucked away inside their Kristina Chesterman's makeup bag was a bucket list. (Image source: CBS Evening News)

"She wanted to tour Niagara Falls. Save someone's life, which she did that, many times over," she continued to CBS News. "By donating her organs, she saved lives. This next one makes me laugh. She wanted to break up a fight between two guys over her, which I think is so cute. And I don't know that it ever happened, but it should have."

The parents immediately knew what they had to do.

"Because she didn't get to do this, we wanted to complete it for her," her father David said.

[sharequote align="center"]"Because she didn't get to do this, we wanted to complete it for her."[/sharequote]

And, just a few weeks ago, the two visited Niagra Falls, checking that item off Kristina's list.

But, Sandra and David told CBS News that the best part is they aren't the only ones living out their daughter's dreams. After their story spread on social media, thousands of strangers have started doing so as well, posting their journeys to the "Remembering Kristina Chesterman" Facebook page.

"I think that it is just amazing that she could have that effect on someone who never even know her," David said.

On Wednesday, her mother turned to the page and recounted the horrible events of 10 months ago, saying she remembers "sitting on Kristina's bed holding her hand and begging her to open her eyes."



"She wanted to make this world a better place and she wanted to make people be less selfish and more selfless, like she was," she wrote.

"This is the reason we tell her story. We NEED to make the changes that she would have made. WE need to make HER proud, just as she made us proud."

Follow Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) on Twitter

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