American Mothers, Inc. is proud to announce the winner of the National 5th Grade Essay Contest—Abhinav Verma of Tazewell, TN. The 10-year-old wrote a short essay (below) on ‘What My Mother Means To Me,’ the prompt from the organization that has been sponsoring this national competition since 2004.
In his submission, Verma wrote: “There has never been a time when I was hurt and my mother wasn’t there for me. For my mother, my happiness comes before her own. Although my mom is qualified as a dentist, she chose to stay home just for me. Her daily chores, sleepless nights, and relentless determination in her every act are true reflections of her dedication towards her family.”
Verma loves writing and says he wants to become an author. He has a growing collection of short stories and was inspired to enter the contest after hearing about it from his language arts teacher. “As I grew older, my mother taught me right from wrong, and to be kind to all. She showed me how love and compassion are the greatest human assets and can win all the hearts in the world. My mother would give everything to see me happy,” he wrote.
His mother, Preeti Verma, said it was sweet to hear her son express gratitude for the sacrifices she has made, including leaving her career to be home with her children. “For me, the most important thing is that I have been with them every moment since they were born. I didn’t even send them to daycare because I didn’t want to miss their first crawl or first words. I feel so blessed and so rich that my life has been really full. And I have been with my kids all the time. We have learned together, we have grown together as human beings, and we have done so many things that even I had not done in my childhood,” she said.
When asked what surprises her most about being a mother, she replied, “We have so much to learn from our kids because they see the world with their own perspective. They have so many ideas they generate just by looking around them and being with their friends and teachers, and they take the values they learn at home and bring them to the world.”
Each year, American Mothers, Inc.® sponsors an essay contest for all fifth-grade students or the equivalent, in the public, private, and home school environment. The contest theme is “What My Mother Means to Me.” Winners are selected by state, and one national winner is invited to read their essay at the annual National Convention of American Mothers and will receive a $500 Golden Rule Grant to the nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of their choice.
For more information on the National 5th Grade Essay Contest, visit americanmothers.org/essaycontest.
