I work best when I have a goal or direction to work towards.
— Karen Bardsley
I think the work ethic will take me wherever I want to go in life. It's my mindset that determines how, when, and if I'll get there.
I like to eat healthily and feel like I'm putting good fuel in my body, although I do allow some tasty treats once in a while.
I think, in a tournament, things are always a little more exciting.
Road wins are critical, and it's huge for you as a team when you can pick up three points on the road.
I don't know what I was expecting the World Cup to be like. I never thought to ask anybody; maybe I should have. I've never played in a stadium with, like, 20,000 watching. It was an intense sensory experience.
There were some coaches, some teammates, some sports psychology people who I could trust and rely on. They were very important to keep me focused on the right things - the things which would be beneficial to me instead of catastrophising things and worrying about things which were not in my control.
Anyone that plays knows football is up and down. As much as you want to, you can't control everything. You take what positives you can.
You can make loads of great saves, but if you concede, it's, 'That's what we will show the world.'
I don't think there's any reason why girl goalkeepers cannot train alongside the boys in academies. We have done it in the past. But health and safety have stepped in and stopped us. It may be there were child protection regulations to observe.
Goalkeepers get criticism for commenting on outfield players, but outfield players can comment on goalkeeping; it is not a two-way street.
Goalkeeping in women's football is catching up slowly. It is continuing to modernise, improving technically and physically.
There's no point going to a tournament if you don't want to win.
Just normalising the idea of women playing football is a massive part of what we need to do.
Everyone provides a different experience, and for me, personally, it's important that all perspectives are seen.
I think City is a really good example of how you shift the culture internally. We've had a big culture shift, particularly in the academy. Young boys are now more comfortable with strong female athletes being around.
People can say what they want. It's their opinion. We forget what we don't need to take with us.
It's very important for me to constantly push myself.
Every time I step onto the field, I think of my parents. It's such an honor to represent them and my family.
When I was a kid, the women like Mia Hamm and Brandi Chastain were paving the way for female players in the States. Things like that are important so girls realise there is a future for them if they want to play. It is something they can aspire to, to be not just a hobby.
Different techniques are now being used in futsal and handball. It's about timing more than anything else. Those little intricacies are slowly being picked up in the women's game - and it's kind of going unnoticed.
As a result of my upbringing, I was interested in reconnecting with my family and making them proud. Therefore, this emotional connection meant that representing England became a personal obsession.
It took me a while to accept everything, but I am so grateful for the way my parents raised me. It's my life, it's unique, and I think it's so meaningful to me as I get older.
I am fortunate that I have a good support network who I felt I could say, 'Hey, I need to find out why I am speaking like this,' and they could find out who I needed to speak to.
You have to choose to use mistakes as learning opportunities and leave them behind.
You think it's so easy? Get in goal.
Everybody wants to score. It's a great feeling. But making saves is a great feeling as well.
To build more interest in goalkeeping, we have to change how people think and report on goalkeepers. You are not just there to keep the ball out of the back of the net: you are there to impact the back four, to organise the team, essentially lead from the back. It is a really pivotal position.
Beating the Germans for the first time in our history was massive.
If you speak to girls who play football alongside lads, they'll tell you that you almost have to earn the right to play with them. It's annoying that you have to do that, but once you've done it, the barriers are down.
Female goalkeepers are seen as equals in academies now. We're trying to set a good example for the younger boys so they're used to seeing us women around, making great saves and scoring great goals.
You have to stand and fight for what you believe.
I've lived all my life in the U.S., but to be brutally honest, I don't really have any ties to the country apart from my mum and dad. Most of the rest of my family live in the Stockport area, and I've always related more to that side of my background.
In my position, I'm always going to get a bit of flak. I take it with a grain of salt.
I want to carry on improving and learning.
You try to do the right thing at the right time and make a good impression on people.
We do get a lot of sexist tweets and comments, things about a woman's place being in the kitchen, not on the pitch.
It just goes to show how much the women's game has improved over the years: there are some outstanding goalkeepers capable of fantastic reaction saves.
We talk sometimes about the impact we hope we're having, that little girls - and boys - at home are watching us on TV. We can be role models.
Kids in school told me my parents had accents, but I had no idea; they've always sounded that way to me.
I found it personally really difficult to admit to myself that I was struggling sometimes, but once I had the feelings and I knew I could not sit with them any longer, I sought the help I needed.
As a keeper, you have to understand that your job is black and white: you make a save, or you don't; you can be the hero - or the goat.
One of my core values is that credit should be due, wherever it is needed.
There are constant messages I heard growing up... like, 'If you're unfit, you go in goal' or, 'If you're crap, you go in goal.' No, no, no! How do we change that? How do we give goalkeeping more respect?
My big thing is we need to change how people feel about goalkeeping. I don't think there is enough respect for the position in the game, whether male or female. There is a stigma that you have to be a certain size or not very good with your feet, or you have had to go in goal as a last resort.
I grew up watching Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain, watching them achieve.
I trained alongside full-grown men at college and worked with some great male keepers. It helped me 100% with speed of play, speed of reactions, and strength. The mindset they gave me was invaluable.
I'm not fussed about awards. I just want to win a medal and a trophy.
Unfortunately, everyone's football career does come to an end.
That's what tournament football's all about. It's about finding your feet in the first game, finding what works, and gaining confidence.
