Quotes from Tessa Virtue

School for me has always been a really great balance with the skating.

I always loved skating but you can get hardened by it and it's discouraging and disheartening.

I knew without doubt that I would try and continue my education as I was skating.

At all times, there's discussion about the percentage of body fat I have, how I look on the ice and about how much skin a certain costume is showing.

We care so much about the sport that we invest everything we have into it.

For athletes, it is unhealthy to be one-sport focused, especially at a young age. I believe in exposing kids to lots of activities - there are great advantages to being a well-rounded athlete and human, no matter the field of play.

Women in figure skating, like in every other industry, are expected to conform to an unrealistic standard of beauty. Unhealthy habits are often encouraged to promote a thin frame, and young girls idealize a skewed definition of 'fit.'

The more people feel comfortable to showcase that and the more we highlight that as a visibility for young girls to see and look up to - I think that's better.

Given my travels, I've learned to be more open and feel much more comfortable experimenting with food.

I love golf clothes. I have a lot of fun with the little golf skirts and vests.

Throughout a competitive career, you can certainly lose yourself trying to please the judges.

I was always the youngest and I think girls, period, try to psych each other out, there are a lot of head games.

It's nice to socialize with some normal students, and kind of separate from my skating life with academics.

A lot of the figure skating costumes are kind of revealing, so I think it's nice to have glowing, soft, smooth skin.

I want to ensure that I'm sending the right messages and that I'm empowering others, and doing things that feel like they're in line with my values.

When I'm not on the ice, I do interval work on the bike or the elliptical, trying to mimic a four-minute routine. But it doesn't come close.

Hair and makeup has become part of my pre-competition routine. It's a quiet time, when I can reflect, I can put on some music - and I can mentally get in the zone of performance.

Truthfully, what we do in training is 10 times harder than what we ever have to do in a competition.

I definitely dress based on my mood.

Ultimately, and I can appreciate this as I get older, those quirks and those differences are what I find so attractive about other people, that's what I think being beautiful is.

Flawless' is an unattainable thing.

I have a muscular build and I've learned to embrace that because it's makes me strong, giving me speed and power on the ice. It's a different kind of femininity - one that doesn't fit the norm.

When you have a sense of yourself in space, in your movement, in your muscles, you can express yourself through your body, your instrument. You learn so much about who you are and what your truth is.

It's so uncommon for athletes to push themselves the way they do and not have injuries as a result.