Miss South Africa Natasha Joubert (26) shares how not winning the Miss SA and Miss Universe titles the first time around in 2020 and 2021, respectively, propelled her to persist in pursuing her dream.
This, though, would not have been possible without therapy and learning to celebrate failure.
Listen to the full conversation here:
Being the current Miss South Africa titleholder had been Natasha’s childhood dream, which she says was difficult to reach. Her reason for entering the pageant in 2020 differs from why she has entered now.
Then, she wanted to find her worth through the crown, but now, she wants to serve her country in a profound way. Not making it to the top 21 at Miss Universe was a painful pill to swallow, as the failure happened in front of people.
She was constantly reminded about the experience online when clips of her crying on stage after not moving on to the next phase of the competition were posted.
Her cause during her one-year reign is investing in education. By the time she was crowned, she had already raised over a million rand in bursaries, after being inspired by her own journey of funding her education by entering competitions, especially pageants, where prizes were often bursaries.
She also worked while studying, a reality many young people can relate to.
Her experience taught her that one can transform a test into a testimony by using their talent or skill as a launchpad to kick-start their path to success.
She says: