Going for the Gold with Dominique Moceanu

As a preteen, I couldn’t have been more obsessed with America’s pint-sized gymnast dream girl—which made for some awkward confessions when grown-up me ended up working with the former champ.

Illustrations by Leonardo Santana

When my mother bought me my childhood idol’s high school yearbook as a Christmas present, it never occurred to me that I’d ever have to explain myself.

Sure, I thought, this is a little creepy.

I also thought, Small private schools have much thinner yearbooks than large public schools.

And I thought, Other people’s yearbooks are actually kind of boring.

But I never thought, One day I will work with Dominique Moceanu, Olympic gymnast, and confess to her that I own her high school yearbook.