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.
Be yourself. It's really important not to try and be someone else.
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.
I was a mess my freshman year of college. I still had so much pain in my heart.
My mom was a high school gymnast.
When picking my original music, Tina Turner was someone I wanted in my routine because of the strong impact she has had on my life. I admire her courage and resilience.
Gymnastics has taught me so many lessons, and I couldn't be more grateful for everything that I've gone through.
For dinner, I like to have a protein and veggies again. But because of my ulcerative colitis, really healthy foods are hard on my stomach. Sugars aren't good, and I have to be careful with vegetables. So it can be tough to find food that feels good.
As much as you love a sport, I don't think love and joy necessarily go hand in hand. I think you can still be in love with the sport but just not happy in it.
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.
My entire college career has kind of been me stepping into my joy.
The Olympics were something that was put in my path. I knew I was capable, I worked so hard for it, so I guess it's like, Why wouldn't I want to go to the Olympics? But it was never something that I was really, really dead set on. It was just what my coaches and everyone else forced upon me.
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.
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).
This may sound shocking, but I never dreamed about going to the Olympics.
There was a time where I was on top of the world, an Olympic hopeful.
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.
In life, we are told to do or be so many different things and expected to fit so many different expectations; I think that's something I always had a hard time with.
I was encouraged to use my voice and explore my passions outside of the sport. And when I did that, I was finally able to realize my true self-worth. I was more than that of a gymnast.
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.'
