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The first meal that I learned to make was scrambled eggs.
Laurie Hernandez -
My athlete idol is Usain Bolt. He's inhumanly fast!
Laurie Hernandez
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Every year, my mom makes sure I have my checkups and everything, which is probably a really good idea. She's great with all that health stuff.
Laurie Hernandez -
Basically, I was a little bit nervous before competing beam at the Olympics, and I had this nervous thing to just talk to myself, like 'You can do it, you can do it.' And right before I hopped up there, I said, 'I got this.'
Laurie Hernandez -
My parents have tried not to intrude. They kind of stayed apart from my gymnastics but are very supportive, and that's very helpful as a gymnast to not have your parents say, 'Did you do this today?' and just be very on top of you.
Laurie Hernandez -
It's weird to hear anyone call me a role model.
Laurie Hernandez -
Homeschooling is great because it's extremely lenient, and so if there's a day I come home from practice and mentally, I'm just exhausted, I can actually just save the test for the next day if I really have to.
Laurie Hernandez -
I started a gymnastics class at five years old, but it became serious at seven.
Laurie Hernandez
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I don't see it as pressure at all. I see it as such an honor to just in some sort of way represent Puerto Rico and Hispanics and all the girls out there.
Laurie Hernandez -
I am second-generation American, and my grandparents are from Puerto Rico.
Laurie Hernandez -
I hope I can help inspire people to go for their dreams.
Laurie Hernandez -
I think a big part of what has helped me move forward with the sport is my family. We're all so close together, and the support system has been amazing.
Laurie Hernandez -
When I perform and the crowd is cheering, there's a ringing noise in my head. I'm just zoned in, and even though I know there are people watching me, all I hear is this ringing inside of me.
Laurie Hernandez -
I like history because you can't really progress without knowing what comes before you, so I think it's super fascinating.
Laurie Hernandez
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If you think too far ahead, then it'll just stress you out.
Laurie Hernandez -
If you want to train hard enough to go to the Olympics, then you're going to go out, and you're going to do it. It doesn't matter what skin color or who you are.
Laurie Hernandez -
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.
Laurie Hernandez -
I love my height because when I'm doing gymnastics, it really benefits the sport - and also, I think being short is kind of cute.
Laurie Hernandez -
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.
Laurie Hernandez -
No matter what race or color you are, you can aspire to do something great.
Laurie Hernandez
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Something that would probably surprise my fans is that I wear contact lenses, and nobody really knows that because I guess I've never really had to tell anybody about that.
Laurie Hernandez -
Secretly, I'm a 5-year-old.
Laurie Hernandez -
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.
Laurie Hernandez -
My greatest inspiration is my coach, Maggie Haney.
Laurie Hernandez