My mom, Nellie, got me a rosary at church. I don’t use it to pray before a competition. I’ll just pray normally to myself, but I have it there in case.
I was missing out on public school and going to the football games, prom or homecomings. But I’ve been to three World Championships. So I think it’s like a win-win.
Mentally, I have to get my body and mind in the right place before I start the routine, but once into the zone, it’s like I turn on a switch. I envision myself doing the same thing for the Olympic Games.
We go to church on Sunday and then have family dinner. My mom usually cooks, and most of the time, it’s protein and something else. She will ask us kids what we want!
If anybody has a bad day, they’ll just come to my room because they know I’ll bring out the positive in everything, or I’ll make them laugh, or I’ll be just crazy.
I always say my biggest competitor is myself because, whenever I step out there on the mat, I’m competing against myself to prove that I can do this and that I am very well trained, prepared for it.
I would be like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I wish I could go to prom.’ But then I think, ‘You know what? A lot of people can’t say they’ve ever done what I do – they’ll never have this opportunity.’
