I've had to make really big decisions, knowing the results were not always in my control. Through these moments, I've learned to be daring and take risks but understand that everything always happens for a reason.

I knew that life isn't always just about the Olympic gold medals and the sponsors.

You ask any person in the U.S. and they know who Mary Lou Retton is.

Without my parents and their love and support in my life, I would not be who I am or where I am today.

I've missed being able to flip in the air, flip on the beam and swing on the bars.

You don't always get stronger on the days that everything comes easily to you.

At the 2012 Olympic Trials, I wanted to make a second Olympic team. I fell face first, and in a blink of an eye, my dreams of competing in a second Olympics were over. Even so, I got up, finished my routine, and saw twenty thousand people cheering. It was my first standing ovation.