The word ‘mother’ has a universal appeal. Who does not love their parents? Indians flaunt the famous dialogue from Deewar – mere paas ma hai (I have a mother with me) at the drop of a hat.

Manushi Chhillar spoke about her mother and walked away with the crown in the Miss World 2017 pageant.

Mother is a winner all the way.

A student earned a Harvard admission with her heart-rending essay on her mother, whom she lost to cancer.

Eighteen-year-old Abigail Mack took to the Common App, a popular platform for students who apply to several universities at the undergraduate level. Abigail was preparing for her college admissions, wondering what the theme for the essay should be. When out of the blue a plan struck her as the topic for her essay.

Abigail began with how she hated the letter S. While the caption was captivating enough, Abigail’s essay captured several hearts with her passionate explanation of why she hated the letter S.

Her essay detailed her search for a passion for life amidst dealing with the loss of her mother.

In her Instagram post, Abigail had shared a TikTok video on how she came about the essay.

Abigail recounted how she hated the letter S. Although it has some 1,64,777 words, she condemned it for its use of one word -0.0006%,which is about 0.0006% but had changed her life 100%.

Abigail narrated how she used to have two parents, but now she has just one. She said that the S in parents is not going away anywhere. The letter followed her all day. She had to deal with it everyday.While her friends would have dinner with their parents, Abigail had to eat with her parent.Even as she wrote the essay, Grammarly prompted her to check the grammar, asking her to correct ‘parent’ to ‘parents.’ Grammarly assumed that like everyone else, she too must have parents. However, cancer did not listen to edit suggestions. She did not believe that her situation was as unique as one in 1,64,777. Nevertheless,she found her situation was an outlier, and she had to live as the exception, and the world did not deal with exceptional cases. 

Several netizens from across the globe came forward in support of Abigail’s situation. Many others chronicled how her situation rang true with their stories too.

Abigail’s essay not only earned her over a million admirers on social media but also secured her Harvard admission. Abigail felt overwhelmed. Several followers on social media had expressed how her essay had put into words what they had felt about their experiences. She felt good to have connected with many people about the topic that was close to her heart.

Abigail’s mother Julie had succumbed to cancer in 2014 when Abigail was twelve. A dance tutor, Julie had opened “Julie’s Studio of Dance” in West Bridgewater with Abigail’s father Jonathan a little before she had passed in 2014. Jonathan, a pian teacher, carries on the studio operations now,and Abigail teaches at the studio on weekends.

Jonathan Mack recalled his late wife as a charming person who had a way around children and their families. He was proud of the way Abigail takes after her mother in many ways, including the charm she exudes.

Abigail confessed she tied filling the vacuum after losing her mother by taking up extracurricular activities like theater. She is thankful for her artistic roots from both parents. She finds theater cathartic as it helps escape the gloom of losing a parent, even for a few hours.

Abigail later shared the update of her confirmation of admission from Harvard.

She has not received Harvard’s final acceptance, but Abigail received a Likely letter from Harvard informing her of her admission before the acceptance date. This update gives Abigail the option of choosing Harvard as her first choice. She was thrilled to get Harvard’s Likely letter though she had also secured admission into Notre Dame, Georgetown University, Dartmouth College, and Northwestern University.

Abigail will decide on her majors soon before she starts classes at Harvard in October.

Stay connected with fellow students on PaGaLGuY for CAT Exam 2020 Discussion

Stay connected with fellow students on PaGaLGuY for GMAT Exam Discussions

View Abigail’s video here:

https://www.instagram.com/p/COtXMfwHbMn/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link