I'm very disciplined in many aspects of my life, and I think a lot of that has to do with how I was raised and the sport I've been in my whole life.

My mom and dad were extremely supportive. But my mom, she definitely made a lot of sacrifices, specifically because she wasn't working at the time. She ended up going and finding a job so she could continue to put me through gymnastics.

A line I like to use is, "Every day is training. Every day of life is a pursuit of perfection."

After thorough reflection, I realized that my desire to achieve my goals in this sport outweighed my self-doubt. This perseverance has helped me to be successful not only in gymnastics, but in my non-athletic life as well.

It's tough. Gymnastics isn't basketball or football or baseball, where you can get these huge contracts and make a lot of money.

I tell my coach all the time "Hey, listen, coach. You know the hardest person on me isn't you, right? It's me." I'm the hardest person on myself, my biggest critic, always pushing. But there are days when I have to tell myself, "Relax, breathe, you're too stressed out." When it's no longer fun, when it's no longer something you can tolerate, that's when you have to take a break.

I'm on my own, luckily doing well, but like I said, we don't make a ridiculous amount of money and I have to be disciplined with what I do with it.