Camila Cabellorocked the stage with herformer band Fifth Harmonyforthree years, embarked on her first solo headlining tour in 2018 andperformed at the Grammystwice. But the confident pop star fans see today admits to being introverted as a child.

“I used to be cripplingly shy,” Cuba-born Cabello, 22, tells PEOPLE in this year’s Beautiful Issue, where she’s named a Beauty of the Year. “I feel like even though I often pushed myself, I missed out on some life experiences, or didn’t enjoy them as much as I could’ve.”

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61st Annual Grammy Awards, Arrivals, Los Angeles, USA - 10 Feb 2019

But at school in Miami, the “Havana” singer confesses she “was kind of invisible.”

“I had a drama-free upbringing,” she says. “But it was at times a little boring.”

RELATED VIDEO:Camila CabelloTalks Solo Stardom: ‘I Wanted to Do It My Way’

So if she could go back in time, Cabello would tell herself, “Get out of your comfort zone more. You’re stronger than you think.”

Confidence has come with age for Cabello. “I think I am learning the art of being chill — kinda,” she says.

The singer as a kid.Camilla Cabello/Instagram

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But the two-time Grammy nominee always knew what mattered most to her.

“Of course there’s been times growing up that I felt insecure about something physically,” reveals Cabello, who will make her film debut asCinderella in an upcoming versionof the fairy tale. “But I’ve always known someone’s personality is the most important and most attractive or unattractive quality.”

For more from our Beautiful Issue, pick up the magazine when it hits newsstands on April 26 andcheck out all of our coverage on PEOPLE.com.

source: people.com