Former member of 5th Harmony – Camila Cabello Shares Her Journey To Fame

Etonline.com: Camila Cabello made quite the journey to get where she is today.

In a recent interview with Glamour, the 20-year-old singer and her mom, Sinuhe, opened up about their difficult path coming to America from Cuba. "We flew from Cuba to Mexico, and went by bus to the American border; it took a month," Sinuhe told the magazine. "We left everyone behind, my friends, my family. My fear was that my husband wouldn’t [ever] be able to come."

Camila -- who recalled that she was "very introverted" as a child and had trouble making friends in a new country -- brought just one item with her to America: a doll her mom found at a flea market.

"I started bringing my CDs to the YMCA after school; I’d ask for the boom box and go play my music in the corner and people would come over,” Camila recalled. “And I created a little YouTube channel doing covers -- I must have posted 50. Even though I’d be like, ‘Oh my God, this is so bad,’ music was the thing I was passionate enough about to get over being shy."

"After seeing a One Direction ‘tips on auditioning for The X Factor (USA)’ video, I asked Mom if I could audition," she said.

The singing competition gave Camila her big break, as she was grouped together with Normani Kordei, Lauren Jauregui, Dinah Jane and Ally Brooke, forming Fifth Harmony. In December 2016, however, Camila left the group to pursue a solo career.

“I have never met someone who can confront her fears in the way she does,” Sinuhe said of Camila. "I can tell she’s terrified, but she doesn't stop. She always asks me, 'Do you think everybody knows [I'm scared]?' And I'm like, 'No, nobody can tell.'"

Now, Camila is inspired to share her story through music, and hopes to inspire others to follow their dreams.

"Right now I’m in the process of writing about our whole journey. I want to make a love song for immigrants. That word, immigrant, has such a negative connotation -- I can just imagine all the little girls who have dreams of coming here and feel unwanted," she explained. "It inspires me in my music to do my best to give [them] the light that I have."

"I want to be what people think of when they think of America: a person who, no matter what her first language was or what her religion is, can see her dreams come to life if she works hard enough," she concluded.