Started 9th grade in fall of 1995. Had a late start due to Worlds, which were in October. She spent September getting ready, so she did correspondence courses instead of regular high school
The materials were provided via videotape. She likes being able to rewind and go over things again if something is hard to understand
Each videotape contains a series of subject and classes for every day of the week. It's better than just reading the materials and doing homework. Feels she learns as well or better than she would in a regular classroom, and the tapes present homework assignments so her parents can work with her if she needs extra help
But it requires more discipline than in-person school. Especially after hard days, the last thing she wants to do is put on a tape and learn math.
Math is a hard subject for her. But she's a great speller, which helps with reading and writing
The discipline of training gymnastics makes her a better student. When she did traditional school, she also often found that the serious athletes were also more involved in the classroom
She is looking forward to going back to regular school, probably next year
She misses seeing her nongymnast friends every day
Her plans are to qualify for the 1996 Olympic team. Then there is a national tour for two or three months and additional competitions. So she probably won't be back in a classroom until 1997
She wants to go to college and study sports medicine. She enjoys studying anatomy and science, and gymnastics has made her very familiar with how the body works
Right now her focus is gymnastics and it's pretty much her whole world, but a gymnastics career doesn't last forever. She'll need to have another career planned
Chapter 16: Downtime
Likes to relax quietly in her room listening to music. But it doesn't seem like she gets much time to do this!
She and her parents make sure she gets time to decompress–being able to unwind is key to handling stress at other times
Loves being in her room at home with all her souvenirs and collections. Her parents are even expanding her room so she'll have space for everything
Has a collection of small stuffed animals, especially elephants, and souvenir spoons from cities she's visited. She's not that superstitious, but she also has a collection of guardian angel pins. Seven is her lucky number, so she has 7 angel pins on her gym bag
She likes shopping for clothes and getting new music CDs. She likes country-and-western music: Garth Brooks, George Strait, and Reba McIntyre. Most of her fellow gymnasts are also into country music. Bela likes rock and roll
Sometimes she just likes to sit in her room and think about all her happy memories
She has most of her gymnastics medals hanging alone one wall in her room. The really special ones are in velvet cases on a shelf
On another wall is a framed copy of the Sports Illustrated article after she became National Champion. And a Brad Pitt poster.
In the living room, there's a bookcase where they keep mementos of her gymnastics career. Her parents also keep a scrapbook for her that she's looking forward to showing her children one day
One of her favorite photographs is an autographed one of Monica Seles
Ice skating is her favorite sport after gymnastics and she knows how to do it, but she can't do it (or any other sport) too much because she can't risk injury
Bela would have very little patience if she arrived at gym with an ice skating injury
Her favorite skaters are Kristi Yamaguchi, Kurt Browning, and Scott Hamilton. She got to meet them at the Rock 'n' Roll Championship for skaters and gymnasts
She won an electric guitar at that show, which she keeps in her room
She's also a big fan of Michelle Kwan and Tara Lipinski. Tara reminds her of herself–they're both small people with big hearts and bigger dreams
One of the best things about being in competitive gymnastics is the ability to travel and see new places and meet new people
Sometimes they're so busy they don't get a chance to explore
Has so far traveled to Sabae, Japan; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Charleroi, Belgium
Didn't have much time to sight-see in Sabae–mostly saw the city through the bus window going to and from the arena and the hotel. Everything was amazingly clean and people were so polite. People seemed much more restrained. America has more freedom of expression and individuality, but she wishes Americans littered less and didn't mess up public spaces
Japan was very pretty, very different looking.
Got to wear yellow gis at a welcome ceremony. She mostly ate rice, and she wouldn't try the jellyfish. She wants to go back
Jet lag can be hard to deal with, but she gets used to the new schedule pretty quickly
She's lucky that usually at least one of her parents can travel with her. Some girls can't have a parent, and she knows they miss them a lot
Always shares a room with another gymnast when they travel. They have to be very serious–it's not a slumber party.
When she has a little freedom, she rushes to buy postcards, some to save and some to send to friends at home. She always tries to buy presents for her parents, sister, and best friends
Traveled to Sao Paulo for Pan-American games in 1992. They got to spend a whole day sight-seeing and immediately went to the beach. The Brazilians were very warm and demonstrative, much more open than the Japanese
Got the impression people in Brazil are looser and less concerned with appearances–more interested in living well and being happy
Belgium was 1993. Charleroi was the most old-fashioned looking town she'd ever been in. Streets were very narrow and winding, made for horses and carriages, and cars were very small
The hotel room was so tiny she could cross it in 10 steps. The phone was big and old-fashioned and never worked well, the TV was like from I Love Lucy–big, old, black-and-white with antennas. There were four channels, all in French or Flemish. She didn't watch much television
The bathroom was down the hall from her room, which she found very weird.
Her room had a special code she had to enter to get in, and she had a had time remembering it. Some other people in the same delegation had the same problem
Hasn't taken a vacation with her family since she was 10–they've been too busy
Wants to spend a week at Disney World (she was there once, for an exhibition, but it was brief. She thinks her sister would love it too)
