Maybe Asians are switching from studying to sports.
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Everyone has been injured, regardless of whether they're an athlete or not.
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I'm very Asian, and also my mom raised me to be polite and to eat whatever is put in front of me. I actually enjoy snails a lot. And I've eaten sea urchin and that shebang.
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I fall a lot during training.
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I made history here by landing the first triple axel for a U.S. lady, third at the Olympics, and that's a big deal.
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When I come home from training, my attention immediately has to focus on my school courses, which helps keep the stress level balanced. I mostly balance both by drinking a lot of coffee and making sure I time manage well, which doesn't happen all the time, especially during finals week.
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Not only would my parents work full hours, my parents both woke up at 5 A.M. My dad left the house at 5 A.M. to go to the fish market to pick out his own fish, and my mom woke up at 5 A.M. to wake me up in order to get me ready for skating before school.
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Getting to the Olympics was the hard part.
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When someone really, truly believes in themselves, magic happens.
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I really believe in myself.
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Just really believe in yourself and stay true to yourself.
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In the history of sport in general, people stick around. Look at Shaun White and Lindsey Vonn just continue on, Olympic cycle after Olympic cycle; that is why they are famous.
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I got to meet Rachel Platten, who sings 'Fight Song,' I love that song.
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It's been exciting to share my story for people to relate to me and reach out.
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Although there's a stigma that you learn only until a certain point, and then you just maintain, for me to learn the triple axel at 24 goes to show that anything's possible.
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People have drawn me, which is super cool. I'd love to print some out and put them on my wall.
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There are always moments when I think about leaving skating, but when I think about that, I'm not very smart, and I'm not very pretty, and there's nothing else that stands out about me besides my skating.
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It was hard for me to leave the nest, but my mom is super proud of me. She said, 'You became independent really quickly, and I'm so proud of you,' but she misses me all the same.
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Being the heavy favorite is not always a good thing because of the amount of pressure on an athlete.
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I think it's because I'm so hard on myself that I can push myself this far.
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I have a great work ethic because I've watched my parents work super hard.
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I've learned a lot from my parents.
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My parents always tell me that they never would have let me start if they had known how expensive and difficult figure skating is.
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I've always been an A or B student. When I get a B, I freak out a little bit!
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When I started not training as hard and doing what I needed to do, everyone else improved without me improving.
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I always want to try for what's been offered to me.
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As athletes, we want to represent our country to the best of our ability.
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If you really put your mind to it, anything is possible.
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There are moments when I think I'm not very smart and not very pretty, and skating is the only thing that stands out about me. It's like the love of my life. When you love someone, sometimes you want to break up.
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Something that I saw in Sochi that I didn't get the opportunity to have in Vancouver was the team holding hands with arms in the air and medals around their neck.
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I'm not a fadeaway type of person; I don't have that type of personality.
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If I fall, I'll take the fall and get up and keep going.
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I believe in adventure and imagination, and I got that from my parents and the things I experienced as a child.
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During finals week, I don't get a lot of sleep, and I tell myself, 'I can't do this anymore.'
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I skate six days a week, three sessions a day, and I go to the gym three times a week. I lift weights, do some ab work and whatever my trainer tells me to do. I take Saturdays off.
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Japanese people, they're not really one to complain.
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Sometimes, it's hard for me to communicate my discomfort because I want to be respectful. At the same time, I've learned that you have to ask people on your team to help you out.
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On a normal day, I would wake up at 7:00 A.M. and spend about three to four hours training every day. But all of that depends on my school schedule. School and classes usually run from 8:00-10:40 A.M., but not before I've had a coffee for breakfast.
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I get about seven hours of sleep a night.
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Pre-competition rituals include nap time, because when competition rolls around, I'm a sloth. I also FaceTime my dogs.
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Michelle Kwan was an inspiration for everyone, including me.
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Education is more important than skating. I want to keep up with my schoolwork and my skating.
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Daisuke Takahashi has really good footwork.
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I sometimes think about adult skating and how, you know, people like Midori Ito, she competed at the adult world championships. I feel like I'll probably be someone like that.
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I think every brilliant mind is a little bit crazy.
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I was always getting in trouble for whispering in class.
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Being 16 is such a great age because I'm still really young, and I'll still have a lot of chances. But the Olympics only come every four years, so you don't want to waste an opportunity.
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