It's the Olympics. If you can't get up to swim early in the morning, don't go.

I'm fortunate to have an amazing, strong mother who is so supportive of everything me and my sisters did growing up - but she was someone who never forced us to go swim or to go do this or that. She helped us think about certain consequences when we needed to, but we made our own decisions. I think if I were forced to swim, I wouldn't have stayed in the pool as long as I did.

I am excited to have the opportunity to help provide the same swim instruction that I received as a child when I was enrolled in a water safety class at five-years-old.

Every day is different and every day brings something more exciting.

One thing with me, and every goal I've had - in the sport of swimming, my mother didn't know my goals. The only person that knew my goals were my coaches.

Dream as big as you can dream, and anything is possible.

We need to make seeing a therapist more accessible; we've got to crack down on this and allow people the opportunity to seek help. It's going to be a game-changer. I would love people to become more vulnerable and reach out and ask for help. I would never want somebody to go through the feelings I had, almost exactly three years ago, of not wanting to be alive. That's a scary thing, and to think of where I am today compared to that - that's way bigger than winning a gold medal.