Snowboarding has really shaped the person I've become, and I consider every moment a good one because every one has led me to where I am now.

Change can be uncomfortable and scary. But I believe change exists to teach us to appreciate and enjoy the right now.

I'm a competitor, and since I was 2 years old, I have always wanted to be the best at whatever I was doing.

When I first started snowboarding, it was something that was only really done in the winter. Mount Hood in Oregon was the magical exception.

Our job as pros is to walk a very fine line: be the best but stay healthy so you can continue to progress and be at the top. You can't push the sport and yourself if you're always hurt.

Being at the top means never being satisfied with what you're comfortable with - comfortable means you've stopped pushing, and you're either going to get passed, or you already have been. But if you're constantly pushing yourself, then you're exposing yourself to falls and injuries.

Over the course of my 13-year career, I've had a lot of concussions, and yet, because I'm no longer competing or suffering from concussion symptoms, I felt like I was in the clear. The reality, though, is that I get concussions far more easily, and my symptoms last far longer than ever before.

I'm a two-time Olympian, but ever since I was a little girl, the Olympic dream has influenced me.

Meditating, even for a little bit, is better than nothing.

Meditation isn't necessarily this magical experience where we don't ever have thoughts.

I grew up snowboarding in two of the best states for the sport: Colorado and Utah. The world-class ski mountains in these neighboring states were key factors that allowed me to represent our country in two Olympics and numerous X Games.

I like eating small meals frequently throughout the day, it helps me keep up my metabolism and get more out of my training.

We need more balance in the world - more balance of the feminine and the masculine.

When you start to find balance, then you start to ask more important questions, like, 'Who am I really?' That's when you start seeing that every single person around you is a human being just doing the best that they can.

It took me a long time to figure out how to deal with pressure.

The first few years I was competing, I'd ride so well in practice, then choke and fall in competition. Now I take a deep breath and say, 'Look at me. I'm outside. I'm doing what I love.' Still, nothing's matched the pressure I felt standing at the top of the halfpipe for the first time at the Olympics.

I'm very competitive.

It sucks. When you're a woman in sports, people want you to show some skin.

It's okay to feel nervous before a competition because it means you care about doing well.

I run on the beach, surf, and bike.

Have a specific goal every time you hit the gym; this way, your workouts have built-in purpose.

The programs I do with my trainer are amazing for overall strength and have a major focus on building my core. We do a lot of unique exercises that shake up the nervous system, which builds my balance and propreception. That's really important for my sport.

If you take minutes a day to take care of your mouth, the odds are you'll take the next steps needed to take care of your whole body, like exercising and eating healthy. It's a building block for other healthy habits.

As a professional snowboarder, my goal is to educate and create awareness around the issues we're facing with climate change.

While everyone's purpose may be different, with social media we all have that platform to create the change we want to see in the world, and I spend a lot of time encouraging others to step up and use theirs.

What most people don't realize is that in snowboarding, there are two different aspects: the filming side and the competition side. The filming side is when snowboarders spend the entire winter season trying to document the best, most progressive and innovative riding of the year.

The Olympics have always been very special to me.

Getting older, getting married, buying a house, becoming a different person... I had to figure out what my new motivations, inspirations, and goals were.

I've always had bigger legs and butt; it's just the way I'm built. Over time, I realized that they were blessings because that foundation - my legs and butt - is what helps me flip 12 feet above an icy halfpipe.

Being involved in sports, you think less about how your body looks and more how it performs.

After the Winter Olympics in 2006, I realized I had a platform to speak about causes that were important to me - and people would listen.

As a professional snowboarder, my livelihood obviously depends on snow. And for me, traveling around the world, chasing the snow, I see the effects of climate change first hand. You can tell the difference.

Every year, I push myself to do something different - and push the boundaries a little bit more.

If you're stressed at work, or before a competition, or if you need to be energized, or relaxed, there's so many scents that kind of take you there.

The Olympics, you're in front of the world, and yeah you're competing, but you want to look good. You want to have a great representation of who you are.

I want to keep snowboarding as long as I'm still having fun and progressing my riding.

My family moved to Aspen, Colorado, where we had 'Avalanche Danger' days that kept us from going to school, climbed 14,000-foot peaks as part of my education, and I learned to snowboard.

Growing up with brothers, I've always been a very competitive person and also very involved in sports. So when I was younger, whatever sport I was involved in, I wanted to go to the Olympics for that!

When I first started snowboarding, there weren't a lot of girl riders on the hill.

What snowboarding has always had and the Olympics has not touched is that spirit, that original spirit of creativity and athletes standing up and having a voice and being innovative. But I guess what the Olympics has done is provided a platform for that spirit, and that's what I see as being a really positive thing.

I've landed on my shoulders a lot of times, and separated them and stretched the capsule. I've torn my ACL in my right knee; that took me out for an entire season.

I think snowboarders have a unique experience when it comes to the Olympics because we have a pretty frequent competition circuit in addition to the games. So it's not a sport where your big moment is just once every four years.

You've made the time to go to the gym, so don't just go through the motions.

When you feel the burn, that's when you know you're doing an exercise correctly. If you're doing 20 crunches, and you're not struggling, make an adjustment so they're harder to do. Don't cheat yourself. If it isn't burning, you're not getting stronger.

I'm a two-time Olympian, but on the front and back end of both of those were two Olympics where I narrowly missed making the team.

I have at least one goal that I work toward each day. It's all about taking hold of the day rather than letting the day run you.

I love dried mangoes, walnuts, and goji berries. The mix provides iron, antioxidants, and omega-3s and really kicks up my energy.

Lots of times, people go to the mountains and feel like it's not cool to wear a beanie and goggles and neck gaiter. But you're so much more comfortable, and you're getting the protection you need.

Mission makes athlete-specific products. I always use their sunscreen - it's an anti-sting formula, which is huge for me because it doesn't burn my eyes when I'm snowboarding in warmer temperatures.

If you don't snowboard a lot, then it's a good idea to go to the gym before you get up on those mountains to make for a better experience. Lots of core exercises and squats and lunges would help work the muscles you'll be using.