In some ways the ACL tear was a blessing. I had hesitated to return to elite gymnastics after the 2008 Olympics. I told myself I had already accomplished so much, and the road was just going to get harder if I continued.
Staying healthy and consistent is paramount.
I'm doing four hours of gymnastics training a day, six days a week and then an extra two to three hours in a fitness center as well.
I was under pressure because of what people were saying about my physique.
Retiring was scary and it was tough to give up gymnastics, but so many great opportunities have come from it that I never expected.
I'm trying to stay as calm as possible and focus one day at a time, but when reality sets in, I feel everything: anxiety, excitement, nerves, pressure and joy.
Were taught at such a young age that you can always be better and that youre never perfect and that youre never good enough.
It sounds funny, but the 2008 Olympics were something that just kind of happened, and I was lucky they came at a point when I was uninjured and well prepared. As a gymnast, you can't ask for much more.
I have a lot of expectations and a lot of goals I want to fulfill, but the biggest dream is still to make the Olympic team for London.
It's been strange and weird watching the other girls at the U.S. Olympic trials just because I was training to be out there myself.
Well-I don't know if anyone would really ask me to prom.
I set my phone with motivational quotes to go off on random days and times. Like, 'You're stronger than you think you are.' I'll forget about it, then one will pop up and it'll give me a little boost.
I told myself after 2008 that I was done for good. But they say you can't keep a gymnast away from her sport.
I always feel like I'm the young one, I'm the small one.
I love lean meats like chicken, turkey. I'm obsessed with sushi and fish in general. I eat a lot of veggies and hummus.
I get less and less sleep these days, so when I have any down time all I want to do is sleep!
I fell in love with running, and I finally have time to do it now.
When I was younger, my coach, Liang Chow, made all the decisions. I would go to the gym for practice, do exactly what Chow told me to do, go home, come back and start all over again. If Chow told me to do 50 squat jumps, I did 50 squat jumps.
With literature, sometimes a book is presented in the media as being say, a Muslim story or an African story, when essentially it's a universal story which we can all relate to it, no matter what race or social background we come from
Hot yoga is the best. When you're in [class], there are no cell phones, no talking, no distractions. You're taking a leave from reality for an hour or so.
I have a chaperone everywhere I go - my mom.
It might have been easier to retire, to say my knee couldn't handle it and let that be that. At the same time, the prospect of not being able to compete in gymnastics anymore was heartbreaking.
When it comes to gymnastics, you can be 30 points ahead going into that competition, but on that day, it's all about luck. It's about who has a good day, who stays healthy, it's how happy the judges are that day, there are so many different factors.
After 13 years of hard landings in gymnastics, one ski run had delivered the biggest injury of my career.
I feel like when there's so much conversation about women's athletics right now, we need to focus on their performance and their skill.
