Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I'm healthy - for a gymnast.
I've had two shoulder surgeries.
Performing is my favorite thing.
My back is permanently messed up.
My mom was a high school gymnast.
I was unbeatable - until I wasn't.
I know it's important to stay humble.
You can still get results without abuse.
I can't control what the judges give me.
I feed off the audience a lot, their energy.
I've always had an undeniable love for gymnastics.
I think competing is one of my favorite things ever.
I want to put out a few books throughout my lifetime.
I have always wanted my routine to spark joy for all people.
Gymnastics was my worth - it was my life - and I hated myself.
I would have never guessed I have, like, senators reposting me.
Be yourself. It's really important not to try and be someone else.
My entire college career has kind of been me stepping into my joy.
There was a time where I was on top of the world, an Olympic hopeful.
I was compared to a bird that was too fat to lift itself off the ground.
This may sound shocking, but I never dreamed about going to the Olympics.
I think I finally have really taken ownership of myself and me as a gymnast.
I am who I am today because of a lot of the things I've learned in gymnastics.
Too frequently, we hear about coaches and programs willing to win at any cost.
I was a mess my freshman year of college. I still had so much pain in my heart.
How I've always felt is that the fun in gymnastics got taken away from me too soon.
Floor is where I get to express myself. That's, like my party time, like my play time.
I want to keep upgrading my routines and focus on cleaning them up and being consistent.
As a little girl, I could not sit still until my parents told me it was time to go to the gym.
I think gymnastics can be a really brutal sport. I don't think it's supposed to be a brutal sport.
I've been told I looked like I swallowed an elephant or a pig, whichever was more fitting that day.
By 2012, I probably had, like, three stress reactions in my back. Two stress fractures in my fibula.
As athletes, you always know that mistakes happen, and not everyone is perfect, and you can't be perfect.
You can tell when someone recognizes you and they want to say something, but they don't want to bother you.
I used to hate my legs. Now I've learned to embrace them. They've allowed to do everything that I am able to do.
Gymnastics has taught me so many lessons, and I couldn't be more grateful for everything that I've gone through.
Using my voice has empowered me to take complete ownership of my life. So, in return for speaking my truth, I listen.
Growing up, I was often put under a lot of pressure. Being an athlete, I've been dealing with pressure for a long time.
My teammates and my coaches have all allowed me to step into my individuality and not be defined by just being a gymnast.
Both my parents had never been to New York, so when they got to go out with me for 'Good Morning America,' they were so happy.
There's days when my body's better than other days. It still gives me problems. But it's very manageable. Rehab is forever my friend.
During my freshman year of college, it became undeniably clear that I didn't want to be great again. I correlated greatness with misery.
It's not me standing on the podium with medals. It's me being able to walk out with a smile on my face and truly being happy with myself.
In elite gymnastics, I was surrounded by this bubble, that gymnastics was literally all I knew, and I'd like to know about worldly issues.
As an athlete, you learn to keep pushing through the pain until the pain eventually becomes unbearable. Even then, you are told to continue.
I think just being able to experience college gymnastics the way I have has allowed me to really express myself and have so much fun in the sport.
The joy had been ripped away from me, but deep down, I loved the competition floor. And I thought, 'Gymnastics is literally the only thing I have.'
At just 16 years old, I was told that my back would never be the same again. My well-being had been neglected for the opportunity to win a gold medal.
I won the 2011 Visa Championships, the 2012 Pacific Rims, and then the 2013 American Cup (the first and only senior elite competition of my elite career).
I have said that gymnastics can be abusive and brutal. That was my experience. I felt trapped in a world where authority figures were dictating my future.