The 23-year-old, who visited Arts&Culture for an interview just days after her victory, believes the win was just a dream that has manifested over time. She told Arts&Culture that even though she has competed in a few pageantries, she always had her eyes fixed on the ultimate price; the Miss Botswana crown. By the time she joined Miss Botswana last year, she said she told herself that she knew that it was now or never. Thomas said she was ready emotionally and mentally to partake on a pageantry of this magnitude since Miss Botswana is one of the biggest pageants locally. “My journey to Miss Botswana has been a miracle. I have been walking into grace. Even though it was challenging, I enjoyed it. It has been a journey of transformation and growth. It was amazing. Wanting to do something just to do it is a very wrong formula in life. Whenever I want to do something, I do it because I know I can do it. I knew I was going to compete against amazing women but I kept praying and knew it was going to be my time,” she said. Thomas added that she did not win because she was better than others but that it was her time to win and shine. A strong believer in Christ, Thomas credits her faith in God for her win. Like any other competition, she faced challenges along the way but never doubted herself. Coming from an underprivileged background, she mentioned that sometimes she struggled to put things together. However, her fear of losing and strong belief in the creator pushed her beyond her limits. Her win was not only hers but for the people back in her home village. “After winning, I received calls from elders from my village who applauded me for bringing the crown to Masunga for the very first time,” she stated.
She added that her win is an inspiration to fellow young women and men from her village to know that they too could be whatever they put their minds to. She also said taking over the crown from a fellow Kalanga, the now Miss World Botswana, Anicia Gaothusi, was an honour. Commenting on the two contestants who stepped out of the pageantry, she said partaking in the pageant was a personal journey, and therefore, she was not aware what they were going through and what made them pull out of the competition but wished them well on their endeavours, saying she hoped they were okay. However, she admitted that their pulling stained the competition. “That stage was meant for us to conquer it as sisters but when a sister pulls out, the competition became very stressful. We used to think that maybe there was something we could have done to keep them in the competition, but also I guess it is about choosing what is best for you as an individual. We were sad that we were not able to finish what we started together as a sisterhood,” she explained.
