Rylee Arnold Reveals the Promise She Made to Herself Before Moving to L.A. (Exclusive)

"I always just want to be myself, fully showcase that to people," Arnold tells PEOPLE about her experience on 'Dancing with the Stars'

Rylee Arnold moved to Los Angeles to follow her dream of being on Dancing with the Stars, but there's one thing she was sure of keeping the same throughout the process.

PEOPLE caught up with the 19-year-old professional dancer who, in her second season as a competitor, has made her first finals alongside Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik following the highly anticipated season 33 semifinals of the reality dancing competition on Tuesday, Nov. 19.

While speaking about adjusting to being vulnerable in front of cameras, she shares that she's always been one to "connect to people who are vulnerable and who are just themselves," and she wanted to stay true to this after joining the show.

Related: Dancing with the Stars Full Recap: The Semifinals End With a Shocking Elimination Twist

"I think one of my biggest lessons before going into L.A. and being in this whole scene and being a pro on Dancing with the Stars was to always stay true to yourself, always be yourself, never try to be somebody different because you lose yourself in the process of it," the Utah native tells PEOPLE.

"So I always just want to be myself, fully showcase that to people so they know that it's okay to cry and it's okay to have hard days because it's you and that's who you are, and you want to express yourself the best you can," she continues.

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While the Dancing with the Stars pro adds that making the finals this season is just "surreal" and gives her a feeling that she "can't even put into words," she shares with PEOPLE while reflecting on her journey that she would tell her younger self "just to keep pushing forward, stay confident, stay in your lane, and just keep working hard and doing your thing."

"And you're not going to believe me when I tell you this, but you're going to be in the finals when you're 19 years old, it's just so crazy," she adds.

Arnold further reflected on her experience on the show by sharing a clip from the semifinals on Instagram, showing her appreciation for Nedoroscik.

Related: Stephen Nedoroscik Reveals He and His Girlfriend Have Game Nights with DWTS Partner Rylee Arnold (Exclusive)

"Im the luckiest to have Steve on this journey with me and I know for a fact we were paired together for a reason cause I truly have made a lifelong friend out of him and it has been the most happy, fulfilling and most amazing season I could ever ask for🥹 So Steve THANK YOU!!!! WE DID IT!!!!!! 😭😭😭 now let’s go kill the finale!!!!🥳✨🪩🫶🏼" she wrote.

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The season 33 Dancing with the Stars finale airs on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+, with the episode available to stream the next day on Hulu.