It might have been easier to retire, to say my knee couldn't handle it and let that be that. At the same time, the prospect of not being able to compete in gymnastics anymore was heartbreaking.

My coach, Liang Chow, had one rule while I was training for the 2008 Olympics: no skiing. I could do anything I wanted outside the gym, he said, except ski.

There's always a chance. Anything can happen.

I have a chaperone everywhere I go - my mom.

I think about my goals. There were a lot of times in gymnastics when I really didn't want to go in and train, but you can't make it to the Olympics if you don't train!

Gymnastics taught me everything - life lessons, responsibility and discipline and respect.

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