Sometimes, it happens that you receive an e-mail like this, which makes you understand many things, which make you feel emotions and see reality, through the eyes of those who cannot see.
Today I present Milagros to you, indeed I leave the introductions to her.
Hello girls,
This message is going to be a little strange, I really hope I don’t bother you with it.
My name is Milagros, and I am an 18 year old totally blind girl. I’m from Uruguay, and I’ve been following Il Volo for more than four years. I even traveled to Argentina to go to one of their concerts. The boys came into my life at a very difficult time, when I was dealing with many things, among them, my uncertainty for the future (people with disabilities…basically we are second class citizens in my country, and the most that is expected of us is to graduate from high school, and even that is considered too much). In some strange way, perhaps, Il Volo’s music gave me some of the strength I needed to keep going.
A month ago I was notified that I had just received a full scholarship to study at Harvard University. I am the second Uruguayan person in history to be selected to study at the college.
Harvard is crazy!!!
My parents never graduated high school so even the idea of going to college seemed far away for me. When I was completing the application (with their music in the background, of course) I realized how much things had changed since I started listening to them until today – and when I got the news…it may not seem to make sense (in the end, many might say it’s just music) but I believe that music, just like words, also has the power to change lives.
In this video, Milagros has just received confirmation of admission to Harvard studies !!
And this past year I worked reporting for foreign media (HuffPost, The Telegraph, Foreign policy etc.) And this may sound silly, but I am sure I could not have made it if it were not for the strength that, although from afar, the music of Il Volo gave me.
I even traveled to Argentina to go to one of their concerts.
That concert was magical. I don’t consider myself a very emotional person, but that day I ended up crying while listening to them sing. I had connected with a couple of girls from Argentina, too, and at that time we could access the sound check with the Il Volo card, so I went with these girls…and I don’t hesitate to say that it was one of the best moments of my life.
I can’t wait for this pandemic to end and see them live again (hopefully in Boston, haha).
Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca, I like them all, but Ignazio, his singing, his life story, everything, always made me lean more towards him. I think that, in this world, there are very, very few people who sing like him, at that age. When I went to see them in Argentina (Noche Mágica) listening to him moved me to tears… and that’s not easy.
Yesterday I was listening to music and came across “The Best Day of My Life”, which for some reason of fate, was the song I was listening to when I finally decided to send in the application to Harvard. Now I think about it and it’s crazy, haha.
Anyway. I just wanted to thank you because this website was (and is) the place where I was always informed of their updates (besides the guys’ social networks, of course).
I use a program (a screen reader) that basically reads everything on the screen, except for non-described images.
Your site always seemed truly accessible to me and since you usually talk about things I miss (like what they post on Instagram, for example), I love reading it, because Instagram is one of the few networks I’m not on (there are a lot of pictures and I get lost haha) but at the same time it’s the one where they seem to be most active.
I always enjoyed reading you guys and I really admire the work you do on and for the guys.
I would love to be able to get these words to them – what they, uh, inadvertently generated, the change they made in me – but that’s impossible.
For a moment I thought very briefly about sending a message to one of the guys on Instagram, but as I don’t use it and I’m sure they will receive many messages per day, in the end I gave up the idea.
So I’ll just thank you. Thank you for everything.
Best,
Milagros
The good news of admission to Harvard caused a sensation and Milagros was interviewed by newspapers and TV. At Harvard she will study Political Science.
Here is the article about her interview.
Click here to view the article.
A young woman from Colonia (Uruguay) age 18 and blind was accepted into Harvard.
An 18-year-old woman, from Colonia, blind, obtained a scholarship to study next year in the United States at Harvard University. The application was accepted among 10,000 applications. That’s how Milagros Costabel found out that she had been accepted to Harvard. The 18-year-old, blind by birth, was astonished to hear when the software read her notification on her laptop welcoming her to one of the most important universities in the world.
The young woman from Colonia graduated in 2019 from the Liceo N ° 1 de Colonia Juan Luis Perrou and during this year she began working for foreign media as a journalist while applying for around 15 Universities with a clear idea: Go out to travel the world.
During these days, Milagros received a communication from the President of the Republic, Luis Lacalle Pou, to congratulate her. With great expectations, the young Milagros is preparing to begin her career in Political Science at Harvard University next year. Throughout her life, due to her blind condition from birth, Milagros has encountered several obstacles that, based on her efforts, she overcame and today provokes admiration and recognition from family, former teachers and acquaintances.
Milagros, really many, many compliments, to be admitted to Harvard University is a company to be so proud of.
We are happy that the music of Il Volo has kept you company and also helped you during these years.
We are all very proud of you. Harvard really is an important milestone but how much study commitment still awaits you.
Thanks also for the compliments to our site, we are so happy that our presence on the internet is appreciated by so many people and may also have been of help to you.
What about Il Volo? I don’t know if Piero, Ignazio and Gianluca are fully aware of how much their music, but also their presence, their way of relating, is very important for people.
Milagros, it was a real pleasure to meet you and I assure you that we will do everything possible, so that your story is brought to the attention of Il Volo.
A hug from: Daniela and all the Flight Crew 😘
Credit to owners of all photos and videos.