To be the world's best, you have to beat the world's best.

I always had the sense that nothing was never good enough - striving for perfection. My mother and I had a sort of typical mother-daughter relationship.

You see the fairy tale - four minutes of glory at the Olympics. I thought my life would be cake after that.

I wanted to learn how to skate backwards and they wouldn't help me and they went off and left me on my own.

In my teen years leading up to the Olympics, I loved having the excuse to skip out on parties because of skating. Partying wasnt my thing anyway. Mostly I hung out with other skaters. We were all buddies, so its not like I missed out on socializing. I was really enjoying myself.

Our family life, before figure skating turned it upside down, seemed normal. Our town of Riverside, Connecticut, was part of Greenwich, and we had the advantage of their wonderful community, with great beaches and beautiful parks.

If you are a complete perfectionist, then the truth is that this ice skating business will drive you a little crazy!