This week, Rachel Christie became the first black Miss England in history. In doing so, she proved to the world that beauty pageants are not all about girls who can only think of shoes and diamonds, while proving to herself that she could attain her goal no matter the color of her skin. In a brand-new interview with the Daily Mail, Christie says her motivation behind participating in the pageant was to show race is never an excuse for failure.

The 20-year-old beauty, niece of the famous gold medalist Linford Christie, certainly does not fit in the “pageant type” of girls, if there ever was one. Aside from her aspirations to win a medal at the 2012 Olympics, for which she’s now training intensively, she does not plan to make a career or a reputation for herself solely as being the first black Miss England. What she will do, instead, is use this as proof that race never matters if you set your goals right and do your best to attain them, like she did.

“You hear black kids say: ‘I can’t do anything with my life. I live in a ghetto.’ I say: ‘Well, get off your backside and get out of it. Stop making your ethnicity an excuse.’ I want to show them you can do anything you want, whatever your color. I don’t like hearing: ‘I can’t do this or that because I’m black.’ They should stop behaving in a way that stereotypes them. If you come across as smart, if you dress nicely and speak well, it shouldn’t make a difference if you’re black or white. Maybe some people have experienced racial discrimination. Not me.” Christie tells the Mail.

People are so often stuck in their little boxes that they let them define who they are, such as is the case with stereotypes. This is why Christie chose to participate in the Miss England beauty pageant, to show the world that stereotypes are not only meant to be broken, but also as negative as it gets. Winning the title of the first black Miss in the UK will certainly show that, when it comes to thinking outside the box, Christie is a pro.

“My main focus in winning Miss England is to show black kids that they can be whatever they want to be. If they sit about moaning and being negative, they won’t get on. So my message is: ‘Just go out and do the best you can’.” the 20-year-old beauty explains.