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Female athletes are supposed to be toned down. You're always supposed to talk about the team and never stand out.
I think it's my personality to overcome things, learn from them and become stronger, both personally and professionally.
I need a life outside of soccer. So I very much welcome, you know, new love interests and dating and friends and family.
It's clear that women athletics are pretty far behind in every way. In terms of facilities, how much we make, everything.
I burn so many calories when I work out that I don't really count calories or necessarily try and stay away from anything.
My father was never around. But I glorified my father, and I was always daddy's little girl. He was my first soccer coach.
I think people who don't have conflict in their lives are just trying to please people and not really living life to the fullest.
When I was younger, I was a complete tomboy. Then in college I started emerging out of the tomboy stage and dressing differently.
Growing up, I felt insecure about my build. I didn't feel very feminine. But as time went on, I learned to completely embrace my body.
When the Olympics and World Cups come around, that's when you see the real outpouring of support that there really is for female football.
I hate the cliche of 'just have fun,' but what I've seen in today's sports, especially with parents, is they put so much pressure on the kids.
I've been through a lot of things in my personal and family life. That turned me into a fighter. I always strive to be the best I possibly can.
I never go on Facebook! I like, haven't confirmed anybody to be my friend on Facebook. I have lots of friends; I'm just really bad at Facebook.
I carry my iPod everywhere. My favorite group is the John Butler Trio, an Australian jam band. The lead singer and guitarist writes amazing lyrics.
You're not going to be liked by everybody when you speak the truth. I don't speak the truth to put people down; I don't speak the truth to show disrespect.
Nobody really knows who I am, where I came from, what's in my heart, why I believe in the things I believe, what I see behind the scenes and they don't see.
Everybody should be affected by their own realities in their own lives, their own struggles in their own lives. It makes us who we are, and we all know that.
It took putting one foot in front of the other every single day to get through it to the point where I made it back on the team and won a gold medal in 2008.
I've learned that winning isn't everything, and it's more about the journey. But at the end of the day, I just want to stand on the podium with the gold medal.
I think it's my personality to overcome things, learn from them and become stronger, both personally and professionally. To be honest, I welcome those hardships.
In front of the world, all of a sudden I'm a great athlete and I'm put into an environment with 25 other women and I'm expected to go to team meals, team functions.
My personal life is in the spotlight, but people say what they want to say. The truth isn't in the spotlight, I should say. I'm in the spotlight, but not the truth.
I think the concept of seeking fame and fortune in women's football in the States is a bit idyllic. Look at all the teams in America that have folded, and the leagues.
With each year that's gone by, and as I grow up and get older, I've become more mature, of course, but you have a sense of who you are, and you find confidence in that.
All my life, since the time I was little, has been a long distraction. At least that is the way some people want to perceive it, but for me, it's given me a lot of strength.
As women professional athletes, you have to have respect for every player and individual. Beyond that, it doesn't matter what your interests are. People can have their own lives.
Being responsible and taking care of your body is truly how you make your pay cheque, how you excel and succeed in your lifelong goals, so for me it's just an everyday lifestyle.
There are no shortcuts. If you feel good, you'll look good, you'll play good. Work hard every day. No matter what your strengths and weaknesses, there's no substitute for hard work.
I think every athlete has their window of opportunity, and you just have to jump on it. You never know when it can end. So I'm just trying to live large while I have the opportunity.
My family doesn't do happy endings. We do sad endings or frustrating endings or no endings at all. We are hardwired to expect the next interruption or disappearance or broken promise.
I think people have different definitions of team unity. My definition is doing whatever it takes to win, what makes a great team; it's performance on the field, respect on the field.
One thing I've learned in life is that I can speak for myself, that I can fight my own battles. I don't like anyone telling me how I'm supposed to feel or think or what I'm supposed to say.
I am pushed by my critics. I don't want to say I want to prove them wrong, but it pushes me on the field to play with a chip on my shoulder, and I play best when I have a chip on my shoulder.
There are so many different walks of life, so many different personalities in the world. And no longer do you have to be a chameleon and try and adapt to that environment - you can truly be yourself.
I never wanted to go to college in the state of Washington because I was so embarrassed and ashamed of my family life. I wanted to run. That's what always what I do, I run. I run as far away as I can.
I always just had a dream to spend more time with my father. But at the end of the day, my mom was the one who kept me in soccer,who kept me doing my homework, who provided me with meals on a daily basis.
I don't just want to focus on soccer, soccer, soccer. You're going to look back 20 years from now and of course you're going to remember the games. But I'm going to remember seeing my family in the stands.
I have a problem with players who don't take the loss personally. At a professional level you should - it's our job, it's our livelihood, it's who we are at this level. Every loss should be taken that personal.
If you truly expect to realize your dreams, abandon the need for blanket approval. If conforming to everyone's expectations is the number one goal, you have sacrificed your uniqueness, and therefore your excellence.
I know I can't dance. I am the worst dancer. I have no rhythm. I just do step-and-snap. I love it in the privacy of my own home and every once in a while at a club. But singing and dancing are my two greatest fears.
I played in Europe and it was a great experience, not just because of my team-mates and the coaches we had, but from the fans and the city itself - I played in Gothenburg and I played in Lyon and soccer was everywhere.
My No. 1 goal, and what I've spent my entire life striving to achieve is to win a World Cup. I want to retire so badly with that World Cup, but if I don't, then I'll retire knowing that I've done everything I could to get it.
It's a complicated thing, knowing how much pain my father caused in my life and the lives of others whom I love, yet still holding love for him in my heart. No matter what he did, he was my father. He helped create the person I am.
I played soccer all my life and I used to think growing up that they put the fat kid in goal or they put the kid that wasn't good with the ball at their feet in goal and I never wanted to do goalkeeper, I was always the goal scorer.
I never felt the same passion for the game in the States and there were a lot of headaches, a lot of obstacles to overcome - it didn't just run itself for the love of the game because soccer is not the No. 1 sport as it is in Europe.
It was hard. I came to grips with a lot of difficulties that I've overcome. Each challenge kind of makes you who you are. It wasn't always a good thing. I have my own struggles in my life because of the things I was forced to overcome.
I put all of my energy into building the game and giving women opportunities and, to put everything into it and then to be deemed selfish or not a good team player or outspoken, it's been hard. But at the same time, I'm going to get the critics and I know that.
She [my mother] struggled, abusing alcohol for quite some time, and so we just kind of drifted apart. I went to college. But I dedicate the book to her because she is the true champion of the family. She kept our family together. She provided us with a roof over our head. She always worked.
I had made a vow to never stay in my home state to play, I wanted to go as far East Coast as possible, more or less to get away from my family life. I ended up staying in my home state and fell in love with it. I ended up having a beautiful relationship with my family over time and it was the best decision I've ever made.
My father showed me so much love. He showed my brother so much love. He just, he had a rough life. You know, he grew up in a boys home in the Bronx. He didn't really know his own family. So I couldn't hold it against him that he didn't know how to parent. He didn't know how to be the perfect husband. But he loved as much as he could.