The Insider.com

After finishing in third place during her first Dancing with the Stars competition, Bristol Palin is back two years later to take another shot at the Mirrorball Trophy. With the many events that have transpired in her fast-paced life since her last time around, she says she's a different person.

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"I think I've just grown up a lot in the last two years," Palin said when asked to compare her two experiences on the dancing show. "I'm not just like a little a kid anymore....I think that's just going to add to the performance factor a bit."

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The daughter of former Alaska governor, Sarah Palin, turned 20 during her first appearance on Dancing and will turn 22 during the upcoming All-Stars season. Alongside her maturation, Palin has also improved her physique but wouldn't share her secrets to getting fit.

"I've been more active now. My son's three-and-a-half so he's running all over the place all the time," she said. "[I'm] just chasing after him...I'm just a lot more active; [I] can't spill my secrets, sorry."

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Although she wouldn't unveil her diet and fitness regimen that helped her get fit, she reveled in the result of her efforts and believes that her new figure will help her on the show.

"I think it's going to be a lot better this time around because there's a lot more confidence," said Palin, who is paired once again with Mark Ballas as her professional dance partner. "I think that that will show in the dancing."

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Palin expressed delight to be reunited with Ballas, who won the Mirrorball Trophy with her fellow All-Star competitor Shawn Johnson.

"I don't know how I would do it with anyone else," she said. "He knows how to work with me and he has lots of patience with me. I think it's a good working relationship, definitely."

Watch Palin begin her second journey for the Mirrorball Trophy on Dancing with the Stars starting September 24 at 8 p.m. on ABC.