"You give up your childhood. You miss proms and games and high-school events, and people say it's awful... I say it was a good trade. You miss something but I think I gained more than I lost"

In this quote, Mary Lou Retton is assessing the sacrifices she had to make in order to become an Olympic gymnast. She acknowledges that quiting her youth and missing out on typical teenage experiences like proms and high school occasions might look like a negative thing to some people. However, she thinks that the compromise deserved it. By devoting herself to her sport, she gained more than she lost. She got discipline, decision, and the opportunity to represent her country on the world phase. Retton's point of view highlights the idea that sometimes sacrifices are necessary in order to achieve our objectives and dreams.