Quotes from Laurie Hernandez

When I came home after 'DWTS,' I had a couple of days, and I had actually given the Mirrorball to my mom. She loves to decorate the house, so I said, 'Here - make it pretty. Do what you want with it!

Life has been a really big whirlwind, but it's been a lot of fun. I travel so much, and I'm constantly doing things that I love, but it's just me.

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

I tell everyone that I'm 5 feet-1 inch tall, but I think I'm technically 5 feet. My mom says she's 4 feet 11 inches, and I'm barely taller than her.

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

I like history because you can't really progress without knowing what comes before you, so I think it's super fascinating.

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.

I want to make sure I always show off my smile and have a positive attitude the whole time, whether it's during a performance, practice, or doing an interview.

I think it's amazing that I can go out there and be myself, and the fact that I'm carrying Puerto Rico on my back a little bit is such an honor.

I am second-generation American, and my grandparents are from Puerto Rico.

People have always asked me why my favorite event was floor, and my answer was always, 'Because I love to dance!'

No matter what race or color you are, you can aspire to do something great.

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.

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.

Even though I'm a gymnast, I've always loved dancing.

My earliest memory was watching gymnastics on live TV and wanting to do what the 'big girls' did.

I started a gymnastics class at five years old, but it became serious at seven.

Dancing is different than gymnastics, but it's a good different, and it's something that I've always wanted to try.

The best part is when parents come up to me with their kids, and they say, 'My daughter started gymnastics because of you.'

My whole life revolved around gymnastics because I loved it so much. I home-schooled because of it; I changed my eating habits.

I want to be a role model. I want to be able to know that I inspired girls to work hard and go for their dreams and to never give up.

I hope the Final Five has shown that everyone is capable of success if they work hard.

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.

Being able to do something that I love and be at such a high level of gymnastics is just amazing.