I never wanted to feel I hadn't worked hard enough.

I feel like I missed out on the regular high school social life, but that's the way I chose to be.

Once you have a child, your heart is forever outside your body. I totally understand that now.

Dorothy Hamill was my big idol as a kid. She'd won the Olympics in 1976. She was America's sweetheart with her personality, her talent, her haircut.

An athlete gains so much knowledge by just participating in a sport. Focus, discipline, hard work, goal setting and, of course, the thrill of finally achieving your goals. These are all lessons in life.

Now, I am thrilled to be a wife and mother, and I hope to be as good of a mother as my own mother, Carole.

I learned to put 100 percent into what you're doing. I learned about setting goals for yourself, knowing where you want to be and taking small steps toward those goals. I learned about adversity and how to get past it.