I Told Myself After 2008

I Missed Being Considered An Athlete And Having That Competitive Drive, And Missed Having Something To Work For Every Day. I'd Taken Two And A Half Years Away From The Sport And Was Out Of Shape. I Wanted To Get Back To Where I Was In 2008.

My Approach To Gymnastics In Beijing Was Heavily Based On The Amount Of Difficulty I Could Do.

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.

There's Always A Chance. Anything Can Happen.

Something My Mom Taught Me When I Was Little Is That Everything Happens For A Reason. Retiring Was Scary And It Was Tough To Give Up Gymnastics, But So Many Great Opportunities Have Come From It That I Never Expected. And Those Wouldn't Have Happened Had I Not Accepted My Injury As A Way To Try Something New.