Here I am in the final week of semi final judging for the Tammy Taylor Mrs South Africa Women Empowerment Programme. I’m not nervous. I’m both excited and nostalgic as I think about my best moments so far.I’ve lost weight and found my energy and strength again. I’ve been forced to take better care of myself and that has been good for me. In my motivational talks to women, I always drive home the point that we must be kind to ourselves first but I did not know how to do that before this competition.

I’ve also met amazing people. The staff and owners at the BloBar and Meyersdal Nail and Beauty Studio with their vibrancy and laughter was always refreshing. My cousins too have taught me so much about belief and empowerment and love. Through their companies, Shipping and General Transport and Supreme Rubber Rollers they gifted me the opportunity to “do me” by sponsoring me for this competition.

My sister-in-law took care of all my social media so that I could juggle everything else. My mum, my aunts and my girlfriends pulled together outfits like fairy godmothers. My husband and children have been so supportive and respectful of the times I had to be away from them.

People have written to me or called me or stopped me at events to tell me that they admire me for doing this competition at this age and as a mother of three. Women have shared that they are re-evaluting their lives and weighing up what challenges they would like to tackle.

It makes me glad to know that my journey to explore my womanhood in this way is meaningful to other women too. It’s been a wonderful opportunity and I am proud of myself for doing this.

I also recognise too that I am not on a journey of discovery because I already found myself at the age of twenty-two years old. I knew then who I was and what I was made off.

This journey this year has been about showing my second daughter Talisa that life is more than just facing down one challenge after another. It’s also about enjoying the moment and having a sense of adventure. I got to step out of my comfort zone and meet people I would not ordinarily have met.

The other semi-finalists are each amazing and powerful in the own right. I couldn’t have been amongst a group of more beautiful ladies both inside and out.

So here’s to them; for their drive, their determination, their friendship and our sisterhood. I will be sad that after Friday we will never all be together again. The top twenty-five Mrs South Africa finalists will be announced and their lives will never be the same.

In all the possibilities that lie before me, I am sure of this: I’ve given all of me to the people that count and to the opportunities that were presented to me. I know for sure who I am, and that is my gift to me.

Be True To You, Always.