Retiring was scary and it was tough to give up gymnastics, but so many great opportunities have come from it that I never expected.

I had a constant fear, a constant little doubt in my mind: 'OK, I'm getting ready to do my standing back full on beam and I might re-tear my ACL.'

Gymnastics is not only a good thing to live by, but it is important to understand how it does help you in life.

When I was younger, my coach, Liang Chow, made all the decisions. I would go to the gym for practice, do exactly what Chow told me to do, go home, come back and start all over again. If Chow told me to do 50 squat jumps, I did 50 squat jumps.

When it comes to gymnastics, you can be 30 points ahead going into that competition, but on that day, it's all about luck. It's about who has a good day, who stays healthy, it's how happy the judges are that day, there are so many different factors.

My other life keeps me calm and grounded and normal.

Something my mom taught me when I was little is that everything happens for a reason.