“I was at the mall with [sister] Adria and people kept watching me. I thought maybe I was imagining it, but some people actually nodded in my direction and smiled. Others looked away quickly when I met their eyes, as if embarrassed to be caught staring. I glanced down to make sure I hadn’t buttoned my yellow silk shirt wrong or something, but no, my clothes were fine. ‘Why are these people looking at me?’ I whispered to Adria.
I stared at Adria, realizing just how big a deal my win at Worlds had been. For a fleeting moment, I wished I could see the hugeness of that achievement from the perspective of other people. Don’t get me wrong, I’d worked hard to get where I was, and I was thrilled to have won gold, but inside I was still just Simone sitting next to her bored and unimpressed sister in a Houston mall.”
