Newly Crowned Miss Universe Andrea Meza Reveals Promise She Made to Herself Before Winning

Rodrigo Varela/Getty Miss Universe Andrea Meza

Miss Mexico Andrea Meza is officially the new Miss Universe — but if you ask her, that triumph was far from certain.

Following her win at the annual competition on Sunday, Meza, 26, is opening up to PEOPLE about her journey to the crown, revealing how there were grueling days she considered giving up.

"Everything paid off — all those tiring days, working hard with lots of classes and being super focused on what I needed to do," says Meza, who earned a degree in software engineering before her pageant success, according to her contestant biography.

"I'm not going to lie: some days I would feel like it was too much. Some days I felt like I was not sure," she says of pageant life. "When you're so tired, you sometimes doubt if this is what you really want. But when I thought about it, I [thought], 'Okay, I know this is hard, but everything that's worth it is going to be hard and I'm going to have to put a lot of effort [into] it.'"

After accepting how much work it would take to win Miss Universe, Meza stopped doubting herself and simply vowed to make the most of the process.

"Before coming to the competition, I made a promise with myself and I told myself that I was going to enjoy every single moment of the competition, and that's what I did," she explains. "And I mean, it paid off because, well, now, here's the sash!"

Rodrigo Varela/Getty Images Miss Mexico Andrea Meza

RELATED: Miss Mexico Andrea Meza Wins Miss Universe 2020

It wasn't just self-doubt that Meza struggled with during the months leading up to Sunday's competition. Like countless people across the globe, Meza found herself unemployed and "struggling" financially amid lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It was a weird time in my life," she recalls. "At the beginning, I didn't realize what was happening around the world... I didn't realize how many lives we were going to lose, the impact that it was going to have worldwide."

Meza says she was an "independent woman [who] didn't want to depend on my family again" but ultimately decided to go home. Now she calls the choice "the best decision I could [have] ever taken."

"Being with the people that love you and that support you makes you realize that you are powerful," she says, crediting her family for inspiring her to launch an activewear line and learn how to ask for help.

"In the end, I took the best of this hard time. My dad said, 'Okay, you don't have work right now, but you can find something new to focus on.' And that's what I did. I said, 'Okay, I love sports. I want to encourage people to be more active,'" she says.

As for depending on others, "There's nothing wrong [with] asking for help," she says. "Everyone needs help. I think it's more powerful and shows more of your character when you are willing to ask for help."

Rodrigo Varela/Getty Images Miss Mexico Andrea Meza

Now that's she has the Miss Universe crown, Meza is set to move to New York, where she will focus on her platform of promoting women's rights and ending gender-based violence.

"It's important to let the world know that we can do something about it and we don't have to leave everything for the government or the world leaders," she says. "We have the change in our hands."

"I feel so committed [to] this project because I have wanted this for years and years," she adds. "Now that I'm here, now that I have this opportunity, I don't want to waste it."

Listen below to the episode of our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day for more on Miss Mexico Andrea Meza's Miss Universe win.

As she prepares to promote her platform, Meza hopes that her story will inspire young girls and women to embrace their imperfections and "enjoy the ride."

"I don't see myself as that perfect beauty queen that is unreachable. I see myself as a normal person and I behave like that, and I think that's what got me to where I am right now," she says. "Be yourself and don't compare yourself to other people, because each one of us is different. That's what makes us special."

"And don't try to reach perfection, because then you're going to lose your whole life trying to reach it. It's better to enjoy the ride," she adds. "It's better to accept yourself just the way you are and embrace your weaknesses, embrace your imperfection. That's going to make you more powerful... and we need more confident women out there and more confident women that support other women."