1 00:00:01,680 --> 00:00:09,520 Speaker 1: You're listening to I Choose Me with Jenny Girl. Hi everyone, 2 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:13,119 Speaker 1: it's Jenny. Here. We are somehow we've made it to 3 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:19,920 Speaker 1: that strange, quiet pocket of time between Christmas and New Year's. 4 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:24,239 Speaker 1: It is that week where the world feels like it's 5 00:00:24,239 --> 00:00:28,880 Speaker 1: holding its breath kind of, and I gotta be honest, 6 00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:33,800 Speaker 1: I'm right there with it. I have. I've been doing 7 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:36,879 Speaker 1: what one does at the end of the year. I've 8 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:41,080 Speaker 1: been reflecting and sitting with all that has happened this 9 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:44,760 Speaker 1: past year, maybe even looking through some of my old journals, 10 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:48,960 Speaker 1: looking back at the last twelve months, and wow, twenty 11 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:55,200 Speaker 1: twenty five, what a ride. If I had to sum 12 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 1: it up, it was a year for me of expansion, 13 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:04,319 Speaker 1: a year of throwing caution into the wind, really allowing 14 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:09,399 Speaker 1: myself to lead, not just myself, but also getting comfortable 15 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:14,720 Speaker 1: leading others in some helpful way. Hopefully. It's been a 16 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:17,880 Speaker 1: time of pushing past the comfort zones I tended to 17 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:23,080 Speaker 1: hang out in and sitting in unknown territory with new, 18 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:27,880 Speaker 1: unknown people all around me. It wasn't always comfortable, because 19 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:31,360 Speaker 1: you know, growth rarely is, and it doesn't come in 20 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:34,959 Speaker 1: a gift wrap box with a bow. Unfortunately, it usually 21 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:40,119 Speaker 1: comes through looking at the hard truths and realizing that 22 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:46,319 Speaker 1: healing isn't None of this is a sprint, It's all 23 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:50,760 Speaker 1: a marathon. This year asked a lot of me. It 24 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:54,680 Speaker 1: asked me to show up when I was exhausted. It 25 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 1: asked me to listen even when the answers weren't what 26 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:02,280 Speaker 1: I want to say to hear. It asked me to 27 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:06,600 Speaker 1: trust the people around me even more. It asked me 28 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:11,520 Speaker 1: to believe in myself, which, if I'm being honest, is 29 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:16,560 Speaker 1: a daily practice for me. But mostly it reminded me 30 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:20,560 Speaker 1: to keep choosing myself. It reminded me that taking care 31 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:25,200 Speaker 1: of myself is worth the time and effort, even when 32 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:29,000 Speaker 1: it's not easy, and even when it's the smallest, most quiet, 33 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:33,640 Speaker 1: ordinary moments when no one's watching. So one of the 34 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:38,680 Speaker 1: best parts of twenty twenty five has been this podcast, 35 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:42,600 Speaker 1: You guys. Being here with all of you and getting 36 00:02:42,600 --> 00:02:45,800 Speaker 1: to sit across from people who are willing to be 37 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:50,040 Speaker 1: raw and vulnerable has really changed me in ways I 38 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:56,160 Speaker 1: did not expect. For instance, Jason Priestley. Talking with Jason 39 00:02:56,639 --> 00:03:00,800 Speaker 1: was like a warm hug from the past, and it 40 00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:05,000 Speaker 1: really reminded me how wild it is that we have 41 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:08,679 Speaker 1: grown up in public. It takes a massive amount of 42 00:03:08,760 --> 00:03:11,960 Speaker 1: grace to evolve when everyone thinks they already know you're ending. 43 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:15,640 Speaker 1: And there's just such power in being seen by someone 44 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:20,080 Speaker 1: who knew you then and still chooses to see you now. 45 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:25,359 Speaker 1: Deepak Chopra really expanded my brain. After the mics were off, 46 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:29,960 Speaker 1: I kept thinking about what he said, that healing isn't 47 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:35,560 Speaker 1: just physical or emotional, it's spiritual. Our inner world is 48 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:40,680 Speaker 1: the designer, the architect of the outer one. And then 49 00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:43,600 Speaker 1: Barbara Heeden, Oh my gosh, can we just talk about 50 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:49,280 Speaker 1: pure magic? She is a beacon. She taught me that longevity, 51 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:53,120 Speaker 1: whether in your career or in your life, it isn't 52 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:57,440 Speaker 1: about perfection. It's about staying curious. It's about staying open 53 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:02,960 Speaker 1: and letting yourself change without losing who you truly are 54 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:06,480 Speaker 1: at your core. I also dove deep into the world 55 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:09,960 Speaker 1: of health this year, and let me tell you, it 56 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 1: is a wild West out there. I have learned that 57 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:20,320 Speaker 1: wellness is so deeply personal. It's experimental, it's messy, and 58 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:24,680 Speaker 1: sometimes it's just plain weird. You guys. Take my friend 59 00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:29,599 Speaker 1: doctor Nicholas Parcone, for example. I adore him, but the 60 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:37,080 Speaker 1: man drinks salmon smoothies, yes, blended fish. I remember listening 61 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:40,120 Speaker 1: to him and thinking, is this is this what I 62 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:43,239 Speaker 1: have to do next? Is this where we are now? 63 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:47,440 Speaker 1: But then I just started laughing, because honestly, we're all 64 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:51,000 Speaker 1: just out here trying to feel better, live longer, and 65 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:53,240 Speaker 1: to show up with a little more clarity. And if 66 00:04:53,279 --> 00:04:57,880 Speaker 1: it's a salmon smoothie, so be it. Whether it's Candice 67 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:02,599 Speaker 1: Cameron Beret finding her strength in prayer, where Elizabeth Smart 68 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:07,360 Speaker 1: crushing marathons or Cameron matheson fostering dogs, we all have 69 00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:12,280 Speaker 1: our things. My takeaway from twenty twenty five is that 70 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:17,080 Speaker 1: health isn't about following a rigid set of rules. It's 71 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:21,000 Speaker 1: about listening to people we trust, and most importantly, listening 72 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:26,159 Speaker 1: to our own intuition. It's about choosing what feels supportive 73 00:05:26,279 --> 00:05:31,000 Speaker 1: instead of what feels like a punishment. As I look 74 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:35,520 Speaker 1: toward next year, I have this quiet hum of excitement 75 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:39,240 Speaker 1: in my chest. And I'll tell you why, because in 76 00:05:39,279 --> 00:05:42,960 Speaker 1: twenty twenty six, I finally get to share something that 77 00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:46,640 Speaker 1: I've been pouring my heart into all year. I have 78 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:50,159 Speaker 1: written a book. It's called You Guessed It. I Choose 79 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:54,000 Speaker 1: me when this isn't your typical Hollywood memoir its It's 80 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:57,840 Speaker 1: definitely not a highlight reel of my best moments. It's 81 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:03,719 Speaker 1: about the work, the hard, gentle, sometimes grueling work of 82 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:11,000 Speaker 1: finding actually know of coming back to myself. I'm talking 83 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:15,000 Speaker 1: about aging identity and the pressure we all feel as 84 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:19,640 Speaker 1: women to hold the whole world together while we're quietly 85 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:24,080 Speaker 1: falling apart inside. I share the boundaries I failed to 86 00:06:24,200 --> 00:06:28,240 Speaker 1: set and the cost of ignoring my own needs. But 87 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:39,000 Speaker 1: I also share how I find the hope. I wanted 88 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:44,279 Speaker 1: to give you my podcast family the very first taste 89 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:48,640 Speaker 1: of it. So here is a never before heard excerpt 90 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:54,840 Speaker 1: from the introductory of my book, I Choose Me. In 91 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:58,760 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety five, Kelly Taylor made a choice. She stood 92 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:03,600 Speaker 1: between Brandon and Dylan, two of the most beloved characters 93 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:05,920 Speaker 1: on Beverly Hills nine O two one zero, and said, 94 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:11,400 Speaker 1: I choose Me. On the surface, it was a love triangle, 95 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:16,280 Speaker 1: a choice between two handsome, iconic young men who each 96 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:21,040 Speaker 1: offered their own version of love and validation. But beneath 97 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:25,080 Speaker 1: it was something deeper. Kelly was choosing whether to define 98 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:29,640 Speaker 1: herself through someone else or finally take ownership of her 99 00:07:29,640 --> 00:07:34,080 Speaker 1: own life. That moment was a defining crossroads about so 100 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:38,600 Speaker 1: much more than romance. It was about self worth and 101 00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:43,840 Speaker 1: independence and identity. It was a gentle act of rebellion. 102 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:47,600 Speaker 1: At the time, I didn't fully grasp the power of 103 00:07:47,640 --> 00:07:51,760 Speaker 1: those words. I had no idea that one scene would 104 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:54,360 Speaker 1: stay with me for the rest of my life, or 105 00:07:54,400 --> 00:07:59,440 Speaker 1: that years later it would become kind of a personal manifesto. 106 00:08:00,880 --> 00:08:05,840 Speaker 1: That scene, that line echoed far beyond the west Beverly 107 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:11,440 Speaker 1: Hills High Halls. Back then, I was acting. But over 108 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:16,000 Speaker 1: the years I've started to live those words. Slowly, through 109 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:21,720 Speaker 1: seasons of heartbreak and healing, motherhood and identity loss, reinvention 110 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:27,440 Speaker 1: and self doubt, I began to understand the truth behind them. 111 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:32,320 Speaker 1: I Choose Me wasn't a plot twist. It was a decision, 112 00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:38,120 Speaker 1: a quiet, radical act of reclaiming your life, And like 113 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:43,240 Speaker 1: all life changing decisions, it started small. This book is 114 00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:47,600 Speaker 1: about that journey, the hard earned lessons, the painful moments 115 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:52,640 Speaker 1: of reckoning, the small decisions that slowly, steadily brought me 116 00:08:52,760 --> 00:08:57,440 Speaker 1: home to myself. I'm looking back at some of the toughest, 117 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:01,840 Speaker 1: darkest moments of my life, not to dwell or romanticize them, 118 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:06,680 Speaker 1: but to understand the pain, to give it context, meaning, 119 00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:12,439 Speaker 1: and purpose. I'm revisiting the confusion, the heartbreak, the pivots 120 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:19,360 Speaker 1: and unravelings, because that's where the real transformation happened. In 121 00:09:19,440 --> 00:09:23,720 Speaker 1: telling the truth about those moments, I'm reclaiming them, and 122 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:27,319 Speaker 1: in doing so, I hope to remind you that it's 123 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:31,080 Speaker 1: never too late to return to yourself, to choose a 124 00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:35,000 Speaker 1: different path, to write a new ending, or to finally 125 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:38,920 Speaker 1: begin again. I used to think my story needed to 126 00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:41,120 Speaker 1: be wrapped up in a bow before I could share it, 127 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:46,120 Speaker 1: But I've learned that the most meaningful stories don't come 128 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:50,920 Speaker 1: from perfection. They come from the mess, the middle, the 129 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:56,360 Speaker 1: in between space where we're still figuring things out. That's 130 00:09:56,440 --> 00:10:01,640 Speaker 1: what this book is, not a highlight reel, a real one. 131 00:10:01,840 --> 00:10:05,360 Speaker 1: Our past doesn't define us, but it does inform us. 132 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:09,160 Speaker 1: When we look back at our lives, really go back 133 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:13,480 Speaker 1: with honesty and compassion, we don't just revisit where we've been. 134 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:19,280 Speaker 1: We uncover why and how we've survived. We remember who 135 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:23,800 Speaker 1: we are, and in doing so we begin again, not 136 00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:28,080 Speaker 1: from scratch, but from wisdom. I choose Me as a 137 00:10:28,120 --> 00:10:32,280 Speaker 1: memoir of becoming. It's about looking at the messy, beautiful, 138 00:10:32,360 --> 00:10:36,520 Speaker 1: imperfect path that brought me here and saying I'm still 139 00:10:36,559 --> 00:10:41,800 Speaker 1: standing and I'm finally standing for myself. It's a story 140 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:46,320 Speaker 1: of waking up, letting go, and reclaiming the parts of 141 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:51,120 Speaker 1: me I once gave away. I Choose Me is about 142 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:55,400 Speaker 1: becoming whole, not by erasing the past, but embracing it 143 00:10:55,440 --> 00:11:04,800 Speaker 1: as the foundation for something stronger, truer and free. You guys, 144 00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:09,640 Speaker 1: that's just the beginning. I cannot wait for this book, 145 00:11:09,720 --> 00:11:14,160 Speaker 1: My Baby, to be out in the world. And yes, 146 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:17,360 Speaker 1: I will be narrating the audiobook too. You can actually 147 00:11:17,360 --> 00:11:20,679 Speaker 1: pre order it now, which would be so incredibly helpful 148 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:23,800 Speaker 1: anywhere you buy your books and audio books. I hope 149 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:25,720 Speaker 1: you will, and I hope you are going to love it. 150 00:11:26,360 --> 00:11:29,920 Speaker 1: In twenty twenty six, I'm so excited to say we 151 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:35,000 Speaker 1: are going to keep expanding this space, more deep conversations, 152 00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:39,480 Speaker 1: more new voices, and more tools to help you and 153 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:45,200 Speaker 1: me navigate our own choices and reckonings. I want this 154 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:49,600 Speaker 1: space to remain your safe place, a place where you 155 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:54,000 Speaker 1: can show up exactly as you are. If twenty twenty 156 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:59,160 Speaker 1: five taught me anything, it's that connection is everything. None 157 00:11:59,200 --> 00:12:02,120 Speaker 1: of us are meant to do this alone. We need 158 00:12:02,559 --> 00:12:06,200 Speaker 1: the reminders that is okay to slow down, it's okay 159 00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:10,479 Speaker 1: to change directions, and it is okay to choose ourselves 160 00:12:10,880 --> 00:12:14,960 Speaker 1: again and again. So as we close out this year, 161 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:18,000 Speaker 1: I want to say thank you. Thank you for listening, 162 00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:21,880 Speaker 1: thank you for growing with me, and for being part 163 00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:28,040 Speaker 1: of this incredible community. Whatever you're carrying, give yourself permission 164 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:33,079 Speaker 1: to rest this week, reflect on how far you've come, 165 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:40,720 Speaker 1: Imagine what you want next for yourself, and then just breathe. 166 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:43,920 Speaker 1: I'm so grateful you're here. I love you all. I'll 167 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:45,400 Speaker 1: see you in twenty twenty six.