Laurie Hernandez

“My emotions kind of shine through my face, so whatever I'm thinking is what I'm portraying as well.”

“I love listening to music in general before I compete. It's something that calms me down, and meditating and breathing before I get up there to calm all my nerves.”

“Dancing is so much fun.”

“I think people are people. If you want something, go get it. I don't think it matters what race you are.”

“I definitely take it as a really big responsibility on my shoulders to make sure I'm motivating my generation and the people around me and, hopefully, inspire people to try something new.”

“The Olympics was really, really stressful because I had never done anything like it. At the same time, I was understanding something like that could never really happen again. I embraced it and took in everything.”

“As an athlete, the most important thing is the protein that you eat and the things that you put into your body. Without that, it's very hard to function throughout the day.”

“You're supposed to go to prom during high school. I don't go to high school. I homeschool.”

“Growing up and seeing Shawn Johnson, for her to call me on the phone, I think my inner child was freaking out!”

“Growing up, there wasn't an exact Hispanic role model that I had. I didn't realize how big a difference I was making, going to the Olympics and being Hispanic, until I would be in an autograph session, and parents would come up to me and say, 'You know, our family is so proud of you, you're really doing Hispanics proud.'”

“When you have family with you, it gives you extra energy.”

“I am extremely close to my grandma. Growing up, she would always do my hair; she was always the one who would make me chocolate milk or rice when I came home.”

“When I was 5, I was always joking around like, 'Oh man, I wanna go to the Olympics.'”

“Through my life, I do want to inspire others.”

“Being able to wear contacts, you don't have to worry about your glasses falling off or how you look during your beam routine. As soon as they're in, literally two minutes later, you forget that they're on.”

“I listen to a lot of music. One of my favorite songs is 'Final Song' by M. It's something that I listen to before a lot of competitions.”

“When I was a little kid, I looked up to other people, so I hope that I can inspire little kids.”

“People have seen me at my best, but I don't think most of them know everything that it took to get me to where I am today.”

“Of course I'm very sassy.”

“Two people who really inspire me are my parents, Wanda and Anthony, just because they really made sure to keep up Hispanic culture in my family.”