Empower your future

I must confess that this has not always been what I imagined I could do because I am more of a sports person. I enjoy the outdoors and competition in sports, particularly Netball. The competitive edge in sports lead me to dig deep into my inner abilities. One day I asked myself a question:

“What if I was not afraid of anything?” “What if I do something out of my comfort zone?

Something to contribute to my personal development?” The can-do it attitude, the ability to compete even when I am the one with the least experience in the room. Being very shy but brave enough to stand up for myself. To take criticism and turn it into fuel to drive me to become better. That is the posture I maintained as a model and it felt good. I made lifelong friends and was exposed to many possibilities.

It has worked for my advantage to go through a stage of being criticized as a model for things that I could not change about my body. Sometimes you are too tall, too dark or your hair is not good enough. One must decide every day to affirm yourself, to remind yourself who you are, where you come from and where you are going. This is relevant for the work environment where one would make a mistake and get criticized, one will have conflicts with fellow colleagues and still be able to rise above all that and remember why you pursue what you pursue.

Miss South Africa has been one of my biggest highlights in my modelling career, and I believe that there is something bigger for me to pursue. Being a model is a part of me forever and I love it! I hope that one day I become part of an international movement that empowers followers to become leaders and leaders to become agents of change.

I am inspired by the words from the bible Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength”. This inspires me to show up every day as the best version of myself and to give everything my best attempt.

I hope the strengths developed through the journey becomes not only for myself but for the teams I will lead one day and helps me to strive in my career.

Noxolo Ndebele B.Com. second year trainee at Accensis.

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