Up close and personal with Thato Makgaka, one of our Reflect SA models. after a perfect photo shoot in Lyndhurst Johannesburg by Mza photography. I asked Thato to share how she started her modeling.
From her own words Thato took me back to where her journey began and to my surprise, her Journey only began last year but she is doing great for her self, pushing boundaries.
She tells me
"I am a young lady with a big dream and there is absolutely nothing that is going to get in my way. My plan is to inspire young women,especially from unprivileged backgrounds who have constantly belittled themselves because of certain circumstances and believe that only privileged people get better opportunities. I want to show them that only they, can limit themselves from what they want to accomplish and that they have every single power to make decisions for themselves regardless of their background".
She continues to say that:
"I was not really interested in beauty pageants what-so-ever because I reckoned they were quite superficial and "fake" so to say. All I saw was a lot of fake... Heavy make up,fake hair,fake eye lashes,fake nails and the answers finalists gave sounded so rehearsed".
Not surprisingly, beauty alone is not all that can see you succeed, in the beauty world. Beauty and brains go together.
On how she started: Thato shares that
She stayed connected via social networks and that's how she first found out about Miss Teen Soweto.
She says:
"I informed my mom about it and also shared my stereotypical opinions about it but she pushed them aside and began persuading me to take part in it".
"At first I entered the competition to test myself on how far I would go in it and when I was chosen in the Top 20 I was more driven to win the crown".
Thato admits in having Stereotypical mentality, that changed when she met all the other Miss Soweto teen finalists.
"they were so lively and motivated and somehow that motivated me to take this journey seriously, the intelligence,maturity,genuine conversations that filled the room would deceive a blind eye. I was in a room full of teenagers that were so passionate and excited to live. This surprised me as I've been around a lot of negative teens that think certain people are meant for certain things,one comment that really struck hard to me was; 'I can't dream that BIG because I live in a township'. Exclaimed WHAT? She asked.
She tells me:
All of these negative beliefs motivated her to inspire teens. She took on a mission to show them that there are no limits to dreams regardless of one's background.
Even though Thato Makgaka is from the township her self, she doesn't believe in limiting her self. She believes in grabbing any opportunity, that presents it self to her, in order to realize her big dreams.
One of her proud achievements is when she got her "Dream Job" without experience but a big heart and tremendous passion.
She shares how she became a radio presenter for East Wave fm, based in Lenasia at an early age of 17 at the time was, doing her Matric at Barnato Park High School.
Her schoolmates, friends, family and teachers questioned her priorities.
"They assumed everything I was doing was going to be overwhelming but I knew that was what I wanted to do. I did not expect to make it to the Top20 for Miss Teen Soweto but when I did,they were nervous that I had too much on my plate at such a tender age".
This pushed her to prove them wrong and prove also to herself, that whatever she set herself to achieve will become a success.
"There was a lot of pressure coming from all directions but what I knew about myself was that I work better under pressure". She says.
"Matric workload was massive,I was presenting on Monday and Tuesday nights from 9pm to 12am,attended workshops for Miss Teen Soweto on Weekends especially on Sundays,went on castings and also maintained my heavy extra mural activities at school".
She admits how Somehow, she enjoyed being busy and how that pushed her to do more. She took on a job to MC at a fashion event and a guest runway model. Was asked to be a judge at a dance competition called Exodus and took a part in the; Miss Summer Fest beauty pageant, made it to the Top3. finals will be some time this year.
Thato is still amazed at the rate at which she worked in just a period of a year and acknowledges that sometimes it got overwhelming but she pushed herself to achieve all that her mind was set to.
"With God's grace,I was successful in everything I set myself to achieve. I passed my matric with a diploma and a distinction in Life Orientation,every event I attended was successful in every aspect. I've left East Wave fm and will be starting ChillOutRadioSA in late March.
Now taking her modeling career, even further, with Photo shoots and fashion shows, to help her reach her highest potentials in modeling. Thato Makgaka Joined Reflect SA models, late in September 2012; after Reflect SA founder, got an invite from Panther Majozi to join him, as a guest at his late night show at East wave FM.
Miss Teen Soweto Journey Still Continues and it seems like Thato Makgaka's journey to empowering young women has only begun!.
To book Thato for your projects, contact Ayanda: on 0815131900 or send e-mail to reflectmag@webmail.co.za
Reflect SA mODELS magazine
