Beauty is not only on the inside

Murendiwa Negovha (21 years old) is an ambitious, goal-driven, self-inspired young woman hoping to leave a mark in the lives of young ladies like herself.

She is a semifinalist for Empress South Africa 2020.

Murendiwa has always had a love for modelling, admiring pageants, but she never saw herself taking part in them.

She was scared to enter the pageants, many people told her to give them a try, but she had always been afraid. Murendiwa kept on questioning herself if she even had the necessary minimum requirements to enter.

Murendiwa joined the pageant (Empress South Africa) aiming to change the minds of other young women who felt the way she felt.

“My one reason for joining the pageant was to show that beauty isn’t defined by what society labels it to be, beauty isn’t what you are told to be or your physical appearances a certain way,” said Murendiwa.

She continued, “My definition of beauty is confidence, being self-aware of who you are, being unapologetic about who you are, breaking the boundaries’ society has created for women’s minds that you have to be a certain way to be able to do something. Believing yourself even when no one believes in you, sticking to that dream that you have always envisioned for yourself, that is my kind of beauty.”

Murendiwa’s encouragement to the ladies out there is: “You know what you want, you know who you want to become, nothing is standing in your way besides yourself. Never let anyone’s opinion about your dreams stand in the way of fulfilling them, if you can believe that you can achieve anything you want, who are they to tell you that you are not good enough, who are they to tell you, you don’t fit in,” said Murendiwa.

Like her supreme majesty, Annikie Rabohlale (Empress South Africa 2019 reigning Queen) says: “When you get into a room, don’t dim your light to fit in, shine brighter, do not care whom it hurts seeing you winning, keep on winning.”

Against all odds, you can be all you want to be.

Be fearless and believe in yourself.

It doesn’t matter where you come from or who you are right now, don’t fear to take the first step, that’s all that matters.

Murendiwa’s love for modelling began while she was still in high school (Hoërskool Reyno Park).

She remembers when the Face of Emalahleni came to the school to introduce themselves and encourage us to enter for the pageant.

“I wanted to but my fear held me back, I felt comfortable being a spectator of something I loved. It all changed when I came across Empress South Africa, a fire in me burnt with the desire to do more than just being a spectator, I want to be part of it, I wanted to be that which I love,” said Murendiwa.

Her journey with Empress South Africa so far has been so remarkable, she has grown so much and I want to share the personal growth I’ve had with others.

Modelling gives her a sense of belonging, and that nothing is beyond me.

For those who believe in Murendiwa and would like to see her achieve all her dreams, and help her achieve more points to move to the finals of Empress South Africa, you can support her by SMSing Murendiwa to 35334.

Each SMS costs R3. No free SMSes.

Support her and helping her bring the crown to Emalahleni.

Those interested in her journey can follow her on the social media platform: Facebook (Murendiwa Negovha) and Instagram (murendiwaneg_mesa2020).