Laurie Hernandez

I'm confident. I'm a crowd pleaser.

— Laurie Hernandez

Sometimes you just don't know what to say.

— Laurie Hernandez

Secretly, I'm a 5-year-old.

— Laurie Hernandez

Of course I'm very sassy.

— Laurie Hernandez

Dancing is so much fun.

— Laurie Hernandez

I never look at scores or anything.

— Laurie Hernandez

I would love to be an actress!

— Laurie Hernandez

Through my life, I do want to inspire others.

— Laurie Hernandez

Honestly, I don't really know the rules of tango!

— Laurie Hernandez

As far as cartoons go, I watched a lot of 'Ed, Edd, n Eddy' when I was a kid.

— Laurie Hernandez

The first meal that I learned to make was scrambled eggs.

— Laurie Hernandez

When I was 5, I was always joking around like, 'Oh man, I wanna go to the Olympics.'

— Laurie Hernandez

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

— Laurie Hernandez

The big cheat meal will be a cookies and cream milkshake.

— Laurie Hernandez

My greatest inspiration is my coach, Maggie Haney.

— Laurie Hernandez

Meeting kids who feel inspired by my story, it means so much to me.

— Laurie Hernandez

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

— 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

Since kindergarten, I was the shortest kid in class. They always put me toward the front in school pictures, because you couldn't…

— Laurie Hernandez

People have seen me at my best, but I don't think most of them know everything that it took to get me…

— Laurie Hernandez

Now that I'm doing all these big competitions, I've learned to control my nerves and control my mindset, and I think that's…

— Laurie Hernandez

I was an energetic child, always walking on my hands, flipping off of the back of the couch, or jumping up and…

— Laurie Hernandez

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…

— Laurie Hernandez

I love listening to music in general before I compete. It's something that calms me down, and meditating and breathing before I…

— 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…

— Laurie Hernandez

People call me the human emoji because I think people recognize that if I'm ever thinking something or feeling a certain emotion,…

— Laurie Hernandez

When I came home after 'DWTS,' I had a couple of days, and I had actually given the Mirrorball to my mom.…

— Laurie Hernandez

My mom decided that she wanted to put the mirror ball trophy on the coffee table in the center of our living…

— Laurie Hernandez

Usually, before I salute the judge, I'm able to just grab the event, and I pray on it, and that really grounds…

— Laurie Hernandez

Basically, I was a little bit nervous before competing beam at the Olympics, and I had this nervous thing to just talk…

— Laurie Hernandez

The Olympics was really, really stressful because I had never done anything like it. At the same time, I was understanding something…

— Laurie Hernandez

I definitely take it as a really big responsibility on my shoulders to make sure I'm motivating my generation and the people…

— Laurie Hernandez

It's weird to hear anyone call me a role model.

— Laurie Hernandez

I got a piece of a dead person's ligament in my body.

— Laurie Hernandez

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

— Laurie Hernandez

I love performing for the crowd. Maybe that's what it is. I'm a crowd pleaser.

— Laurie Hernandez

I hope I can help inspire people to go for their dreams.

— Laurie Hernandez

If you think too far ahead, then it'll just stress you out.

— Laurie Hernandez

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

— Laurie Hernandez

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

— Laurie Hernandez