Miss Petite Teen South Africa, Aphelele Toyis
My path to Miss Petite Teen SA began in 2015 when I was 11 years old and started modelling at Sophisticate Modelling Agency . At first I was doing it for fun but, as the years went by, I realised that I was getting so much enjoyment and growth from it. Modelling has helped me in many different ways. I started to have more self-confidence and I grew to understand the importance of team work because we would practice in groups and help each other with routines. Every age group has different mentors, so I had various role-models and inspirations from the ladies who taught us.
For two years, I did not win any awards or pageants. Shocking, right? But, I never gave up! I kept working hard every year and pushed myself to be better. I kept practicing and practicing and practicing. I began to win competitions in 2017. This shows that hard work pays off and you can do anything you put your mind to. My first title ever was Miss East Cape Teen Winter Look 2017 Second Place, followed by Miss East Cape Teen Model Hunt 2017 Winner and then I was crowned Miss Riebeek Teen 2017. I couldn’t have been more proud of myself for all the hard work and the late nights where I would practice my walk at home in the passage.
2018 was another year of not winning anything and then 2019 was my year. I promised myself that I would go beyond the norm and my comfort zone, and enter local, national and international competitions. So I did! I was crowned Miss Teen Greenacres 2019! I almost missed the chance to enter through as I was 1 minute late for registration and I had to beg the ladies at the table to let me enter as I really wanted to take part. I was the last model in my age category and there were 30 something girls that went before me, but the judges decided to select me as the winner. I was so overwhelmed with joy and excitement and I could not believe it. I thought the judges would have been tired by the time i came on stage, considering the fact that I was late and last. I was crowned Miss Teen International 2nd Princess and qualified to go to New York for international finals, but I was unable to go because of the costs. In October 2019, I was crowned Miss Junior Teen Eastern Cape. I remember an hour before this competition i was getting ready and the zip of my dress broke. I was frustrated, scared and anxious because i did not have another dress, but my mom always comes through with a plan. She quickly took it to a tailor in Greenacres Mall and came back with it in less than 30 minutes!
In 2020, I had positive energy and I told myself that i would enter Miss Teen South Africa because I dream of entering Miss South Africa one day. Because of the pandemic, everything had to be put on hold. It was really hard to accept that I would not be able to compete after all. Finally we some businesses were allowed to open and eventually modelling pageants were permitted again. I was delighted when I heard the wonderful news. There were some challenges when it came to preparing for Miss Teen South Africa . Because of Covid 19, I was not able to go to my mentor to practice so I asked my close friend, Thabiso, who was crowned Miss Prince Of The World 2020 for advice and to help me here and there. I also asked for help from Asande, the mentor for seniors and Miss Queen of the World 2019. In the short period of time as a Miss Teen South Africa 2020 Finalist, I did some charity work in my community. I had often worried about homeless people and how wondered how they were copying during Lockdown. As part of the charity work required for the pageant. I decided to give back to the people in my community. I decided to make Sunday dinners for the homeless around my hometown, Despatch. I could not, however, find most of them but was able to feed ten hungry people. My heart was so full of warmth from seeing the smiles on their faces after I donated food to them. I hope God blesses them with wonderful things in life.
The hardest thing when it comes to national and international competitions is choosing a dress because there are many rules regarding what type of dresses to wear. Because of Covid 19, there was not a lot of time to design my dress so selected a dress that a designer had designed for me for a previous competition. The day came where we had to go to Johannesburg for the pageant. It was on a Friday evening and the weather in PE was bad as it was raining cats and dogs and was very cold. On our way to the plane, the rain poured even more and I was wet from top to bottom. We say, “zintsikelelo zezinyanya” meaning it is a blessing from our ancestors. I was very nervous when i got on the plane because it was my first flight We arrived in Johannesburg at night at the international airport and it was breathtaking. It is so big and spacious, and there are restaurants, clothing shop,s book stores and so on. I was so amazed as it was my first time seeing the O.R Tambo International Airport. We finally got to the venue where the competition was going to be held and we spent the night there. The competition was the next day and for the first time I was not as nervous as I usually am. My group was the biggest group in the competition. There were 21 contestants in my group, and I was the 18th. We had to a 30 second onstage introduction telling the judges about ourselves and why we entered. This was my introduction: “Good day ladies and gentlemen, and judges. My name is Aphelele Toyis and i am 16 years old proudly representing the beautiful friendly city of Port Elizabeth. I am a young, ambitious, well-oriented lady who is always eager to learn new things. I want to empower and inspire my peers and let them know that they can do anything they put their minds to.”
There were lots of cheers! I was the only one from the Eastern Cape in my group and most of the girls were from Gauteng. When we were waiting for the results, a lot of people kept complementing me on my level of confidence and that I will probably take the crown because I deserve it. I believed in myself and I had faith that I could take the crown. I could not believe it at all when my name was announced as the winner. It felt like I was dreaming. We did it! Eastern Cape took the crown. My mom, my sister and my aunt were very happy for me. They were cheering as I got crowned and it felt as if they were more excited than I was. Winning Miss Petite Teen South Africa has been nothing but the best. With this title, I can do my best to change lives and do many great thing. s in the lives of others. I want to be remembered. I want to be the voice of the voiceless. I want to restore hope in the hearts of communities. I want to be a role model to my peers and the younger generation.
When it was time to go back home, I was really tired. We took an early flight the morning after the competition. I slept on our way back home! At the airport, family and friends were cheering for me and singing. Sinoxolo Rodrigues, Miss Teen CommonWealth South Africa 2020, was also at the celebration.
Indeed, good things td take time because it took me 5 years to get to where I am today.
I am truly blessed to have such supportive family and friends. I honestly would not have done this without their love and support. I thank God for all the wonderful things he has done in my life and for giving me the strength to wake up and do what I do best. My parents have worked very hard and have groomed me into the young lady that i am. They are my inspiration. Through every downfall and obstacles that they went through in life, they still rise. They taught me to be thankful for the hard times because they will only make me stronger. I’m grateful to have such loving parents like them. I also want to make a special mention of Aunt Gail Brown of Sophisticate Models. She is an incredible and amazing modelling coach. I want to thank Thabiso Phetuka and Asande Mchunu for all the advice.
As Miss Petite Teen South Africa, I now qualify for Miss Teen Universe / Globe and for the Princess Of The World Pageant which will be held in Turkey in May and September next year. In order for me to go, I need to raise money and find sponsors.