She walked on the stage of the National American Miss Pageant, her hopes held high and her head held even higher.

She walked on, her heart fluttering with anticipation and her stomach twisting with a mix of dread and a strange sort of excitement.

She walked on while clutching the fabric of her father’s military uniform, silently grateful that he was her escort to the stage.

She walked on as every step in her heels added a boost of confidence.

Sophomore Taylor Velez walked to prove Caesar wrong.

Caesar, a judge for the modeling company that Velez had auditioned for a few months before the pageant, had called her “hippy.” He told her to lose weight off of her already slender frame if she wanted to be successful in the world of modeling, pageants, and beauty.

Velez did not take offense to his criticism. She took the comment in stride and used it as motivation to do better. She had always loved proving people wrong and Caesar would not be an exception.

She ignored his advice and, a few months later, adorned the stage of the National American Miss Pageant when she was in eighth grade.

Velez walked with her father and released his arm, taking the final steps up to the stage on her own. The other contestants filed in behind her as the air hummed with a restless energy. As the judges began calling off the names of the girls who had moved past the state round and would be competing at the national level, Velez’s smile slowly dropped off of her face.

She did not make it to the national round.

The walk off of the stage and a few hours after that were a blur. Tears, kind words, and a heavy cloud of disappointment shrouded her.

However, Velez did not let this one incident stop her in her quest to prove to all people, including Caesar, that there shouldn’t have to be a certain standard of beauty that women should feel obliged to fit into.

“I’m more determined to prove people wrong,” she said, looking back at that pageant nearly two years later. “I am going to stay true to myself, but I’m going to try to be a better person at the same time. I’m up for the challenge.”