“It doesn’t matter what else is going on. When you walk into your arena or your – whatever you excel at, you’re there to take care of the job that you have to do.”

I have a lot of goals, but I think that I just want to take it day by day.

I think goals should never be easy, they should force you to work, even if they are uncomfortable at the time.

There were times I wouldn’t come to practice, because it didn’t excite me. It wasn’t interesting. I was kind of going through the motions.

I consider myself normal. I’ve spent 20 years in the pool. I consider that something that’s normal.

I used to always go to church on holidays, but I don’t go much any more.

I haven’t swam in any of the rivers outside of Baltimore. I try to keep it in the pool.

Growing up in high school, I wasn’t hanging out with friends every day or on the weekends. Doing normal high school kid things was something I was willing to give up.

I usually try to eat lot of calories. With so many events, it is important to sustain a high level of energy through the entire meet. I usually eat two hours before a meet.

I can’t remember the last day I didn’t train.

You can’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get.

I won’t predict anything historic. But nothing is impossible.

I have reached a place in my life where I need to sit down and say, ‘Well, what do I do? What’s best for me?’ I need to look into options for the future.

Swimming is normal for me. I’m relaxed. I’m comfortable, and I know my surroundings. It’s my home.

Any Olympic sport is great to watch.

This is my 20th year in the sport. I’ve known swimming and that’s it. I don’t want to swim past age 30; if I continue after this Olympics, and come back in 2016, I’ll be 31. I’m looking forward to being able to see the other side of the fence.

I’m so sick of the water.

We need to defend our principles and values, human rights, civil liberties and the rule of international law. If we don’t our world will further descend into a state of chaos.

We told you this would happen, if gay marriage is legalized, then much chaos would follow.

Too often the revolutionary is the man who must create order in the chaos left by failed conservatives.

The theory of chaos and theory of fractals are separate, but have very strong intersections. That is one part of chaos theory is geometrically expressed by fractal shapes.

The most complex object in mathematics, the Mandelbrot Set … is so complex as to be uncontrollable by mankind and describable as ‘chaos’.

If I said any more it would just be a lie; you can’t use words to corral something this wild.

Sleepwalking down the hall like a firefly in the fog.

I asked what you love, you said, ‘Anything with words.’