Skating has always been a major area of interest to me.

Follow your dreams, work hard, practice and persevere. Make sure you eat a variety of foods, get plenty of exercise and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

I'm a competitive person and I love the challenge of mastering new things.

The Olympics is about showing what you've done with your life, your dream as an athlete and sharing that with the World.

A year ago I had a back injury and followed a good nutrition program to help speed up my recovery. I focused on exercise and staying healthy in order to get back out on the ice.

I want to be the first lady to land a quadruple jump in competition. As I grow older, I know that my skating style will develop and mature.

I eat a variety of foods like vegetables, fruit and beef for protein and iron.

My academic schedule is lighter this year because it's an Olympic year.

I worked with my coach to develop some new spiral variations to make my program more interesting. Each one is different and you'll have to wait until January to see them.

I skate about 15 to 20 hours a week and also incorporate a lot of off-ice training. I take ballet and Pilates classes and lift weights with my physical therapist when I'm not on the ice.

Cardio is tough after a day of skating, but with my iPod I can get into the moment and complete the cardio training for the day.

Don't rely on someone else for your happiness and self-worth. Only YOU can be responsible for it. You have to invest in yourself, or no one else will.

All art is solitary and the studio is a torture area.

You know you're doing what you love when Sunday nights feel the same as Friday nights.

There never was a war that was not inward.

I was into playing American music, especially the blues.

While so much is said of the inferior intellect of woman, it is by a strange absurdity conceded that very many eminent men owe their station in life to their mothers.

I don't make fun of my characters. I just like to laugh and I think people are funny and the world is funny.

She was the only woman he was afraid he would beg for.

One does not always sing out of happiness.

I like cinema audiences. I respect them, and I talk to them just like I would anybody I know.