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" Of course I used to smile and laugh in 1976, but not when I was competing. Please show me somebody who laughs when they are concentrating; I always smiled. "

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" I used to tell people if they looked at a map, it was right in the middle of the United States. But now everybody knows Oklahoma because of the Thunder and their success. I don't know if I'll get 'Why?' anymore. "

" You can't jump from little things to big things. It just takes time and patience. "

" When you're growing up, you realize you've got a lot of heavy things on your shoulders. "

" To me, family is what is important. If you don't have it, nothing is going to matter. "

" When I went into the Montreal Games, nobody expected much out of me. "

" I like risky stuff. "

" Nellie Kim, an Olympic champion from the former Soviet Union, got a 10 right after me in '76, but nobody talks about that. "

" I'm very good friends with my former coaches. We speak on the phone a lot. "

" Other kids had more talent, but I was the most focused. "

" I believe that you should gravitate to people who are doing productive and positive things with their lives. "

" It feels good when you come to a place like Oklahoma to charge up the batteries. I need that. "

" I thought I was going to retire at 20, and I was going to be a surgeon. "

" Maybe that's why I like gymnastics - because I like to fly. "

" We used to exchange leotards with gymnasts from other countries. I don't remember who I got my most prized leotard from, but it was one with a lot of stars on it. "

" Scoring the first 10 in history was a big deal, but the fact that even an electronic scoreboard could not figure out how to put out a score, it made the story more historic. "

" I didn't know I wanted to be a gymnast; I was just introduced to the gym. I loved the place because it looked like a hi-tech playground with mats and a lot of things I can hang from. "

" I never thought I would be standing here, married to an All-American guy, living in Oklahoma. What a country. "

" I like to tell young people to work hard for your goals and live in the moment. "

" Life is not easy for anyone. You have to have ups and downs. You can make mistakes. You learn and try not to make them again. That's pretty much my principle. "

" We only had white socks in Romania. But when I used to come back from the States, I used to bring back pink and yellow socks with all kind of designs, and hair clips and elastic bands for the ponytail that had colourful designs. "

" You should also appreciate the goodness around you, and surround yourself with positive people. "

Surround Yourself

" At some particular time, when I was 14 years old, I've done something that people didn't expect. "

" Near the end of my career, I saw things that didn't make too much sense to me when I was a kid. "

" The - I don't want to say older, but the more experienced I get, I treasure and I honor what I've done much more. "

" I basically have my life today as a result of what I did as a child. What did I miss out on? Yeah, I missed not hanging out at shopping malls, I guess, but that is not a big deal because you don't get a medal for that. "

" I did not even look at the scoreboard when my routine was done in 1976. "

" I wanted to have a free life. "

" When I look back, I am happy that my mum took me to the gymnastics club. I didn't join gymnastics to become a famous athlete or celebrity; it just happened - I did more than I expected, of course. "

" I ended up in the US for a month or so, before moving to Montreal with some Romanian friends. "

" When I was 14, I had no pressure. I was a kid, and I didn't understand all the attention. "