I missed being considered an athlete and having that competitive drive, and missed having something to work for every day. I'd taken two and a half years away from the sport and was out of shape. I wanted to get back to where I was in 2008.

Of course, when you're training your whole life to get to the Olympics, you train for gold.

I was at the Olympic Games winning medals and I still doubted my image. I doubted what I looked like. That's sad.

When I was 3 my parents put me in gymnastics because I was a bundle of energy and they just didn't know what to do with me! They put me in a Tots class and I just fell in love with it.

Were taught at such a young age that you can always be better and that youre never perfect and that youre never good enough.

I don't call them sacrifices. I call them exchanges.

In some ways the ACL tear was a blessing. I had hesitated to return to elite gymnastics after the 2008 Olympics. I told myself I had already accomplished so much, and the road was just going to get harder if I continued.