LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — As October marks National Foster Youth Month, Miss Kentucky Ariana Rodriguez is working to raise awareness for foster children. The journey to her crowning moment, however, was not always an easy one.

"There were so many days where I did feel that the odds were set against me, but I just kept looking at myself in the mirror and saying, 'You will not become another statistic," she said during last Monday's episode of LEX 18's Hot Mic.

At just 20 years old, Rodriguez made history as the first former foster youth to earn a spot in the Top 11 at Miss America. She said that this achievement almost feels like a different life than the one she lived as a child.

"I went through a lot of really dark times," she said. "I mean, living out of my car, it's scary being a 16

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