WEBVTT - I Choose ... to Choose ME in 2026! 0:00:01.680 --> 0:00:09.520 You're listening to I Choose Me with Jenny Girl. Hi everyone, 0:00:09.720 --> 0:00:13.119 it's Jenny. Here. We are somehow we've made it to 0:00:13.400 --> 0:00:19.920 that strange, quiet pocket of time between Christmas and New Year's. 0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:24.239 It is that week where the world feels like it's 0:00:24.239 --> 0:00:28.880 holding its breath kind of, and I gotta be honest, 0:00:29.400 --> 0:00:33.800 I'm right there with it. I have. I've been doing 0:00:33.880 --> 0:00:36.879 what one does at the end of the year. I've 0:00:36.920 --> 0:00:41.080 been reflecting and sitting with all that has happened this 0:00:41.120 --> 0:00:44.760 past year, maybe even looking through some of my old journals, 0:00:45.040 --> 0:00:48.960 looking back at the last twelve months, and wow, twenty 0:00:49.000 --> 0:00:55.200 twenty five, what a ride. If I had to sum 0:00:55.240 --> 0:00:59.840 it up, it was a year for me of expansion, 0:01:00.640 --> 0:01:04.319 a year of throwing caution into the wind, really allowing 0:01:04.400 --> 0:01:09.399 myself to lead, not just myself, but also getting comfortable 0:01:09.760 --> 0:01:14.720 leading others in some helpful way. Hopefully. It's been a 0:01:14.840 --> 0:01:17.880 time of pushing past the comfort zones I tended to 0:01:17.880 --> 0:01:23.080 hang out in and sitting in unknown territory with new, 0:01:23.440 --> 0:01:27.880 unknown people all around me. It wasn't always comfortable, because 0:01:28.000 --> 0:01:31.360 you know, growth rarely is, and it doesn't come in 0:01:31.400 --> 0:01:34.959 a gift wrap box with a bow. Unfortunately, it usually 0:01:35.000 --> 0:01:40.119 comes through looking at the hard truths and realizing that 0:01:40.240 --> 0:01:46.319 healing isn't None of this is a sprint, It's all 0:01:46.640 --> 0:01:50.760 a marathon. This year asked a lot of me. It 0:01:50.840 --> 0:01:54.680 asked me to show up when I was exhausted. It 0:01:54.720 --> 0:01:59.560 asked me to listen even when the answers weren't what 0:01:59.600 --> 0:02:02.280 I want to say to hear. It asked me to 0:02:02.360 --> 0:02:06.600 trust the people around me even more. It asked me 0:02:06.800 --> 0:02:11.520 to believe in myself, which, if I'm being honest, is 0:02:11.600 --> 0:02:16.560 a daily practice for me. But mostly it reminded me 0:02:16.600 --> 0:02:20.560 to keep choosing myself. It reminded me that taking care 0:02:20.600 --> 0:02:25.200 of myself is worth the time and effort, even when 0:02:25.240 --> 0:02:29.000 it's not easy, and even when it's the smallest, most quiet, 0:02:29.120 --> 0:02:33.640 ordinary moments when no one's watching. So one of the 0:02:33.680 --> 0:02:38.680 best parts of twenty twenty five has been this podcast, 0:02:38.760 --> 0:02:42.600 You guys. Being here with all of you and getting 0:02:42.600 --> 0:02:45.800 to sit across from people who are willing to be 0:02:46.000 --> 0:02:50.040 raw and vulnerable has really changed me in ways I 0:02:50.080 --> 0:02:56.160 did not expect. For instance, Jason Priestley. Talking with Jason 0:02:56.639 --> 0:03:00.800 was like a warm hug from the past, and it 0:03:00.880 --> 0:03:05.000 really reminded me how wild it is that we have 0:03:05.080 --> 0:03:08.679 grown up in public. It takes a massive amount of 0:03:08.760 --> 0:03:11.960 grace to evolve when everyone thinks they already know you're ending. 0:03:12.680 --> 0:03:15.640 And there's just such power in being seen by someone 0:03:15.720 --> 0:03:20.080 who knew you then and still chooses to see you now. 0:03:20.880 --> 0:03:25.359 Deepak Chopra really expanded my brain. After the mics were off, 0:03:25.360 --> 0:03:29.960 I kept thinking about what he said, that healing isn't 0:03:30.040 --> 0:03:35.560 just physical or emotional, it's spiritual. Our inner world is 0:03:36.040 --> 0:03:40.680 the designer, the architect of the outer one. And then 0:03:40.720 --> 0:03:43.600 Barbara Heeden, Oh my gosh, can we just talk about 0:03:43.600 --> 0:03:49.280 pure magic? She is a beacon. She taught me that longevity, 0:03:49.600 --> 0:03:53.120 whether in your career or in your life, it isn't 0:03:53.120 --> 0:03:57.440 about perfection. It's about staying curious. It's about staying open 0:03:58.000 --> 0:04:02.960 and letting yourself change without losing who you truly are 0:04:03.240 --> 0:04:06.480 at your core. I also dove deep into the world 0:04:06.600 --> 0:04:09.960 of health this year, and let me tell you, it 0:04:10.000 --> 0:04:14.280 is a wild West out there. I have learned that 0:04:14.760 --> 0:04:20.320 wellness is so deeply personal. It's experimental, it's messy, and 0:04:20.440 --> 0:04:24.680 sometimes it's just plain weird. You guys. Take my friend 0:04:25.440 --> 0:04:29.599 doctor Nicholas Parcone, for example. I adore him, but the 0:04:29.760 --> 0:04:37.080 man drinks salmon smoothies, yes, blended fish. I remember listening 0:04:37.160 --> 0:04:40.120 to him and thinking, is this is this what I 0:04:40.160 --> 0:04:43.239 have to do next? Is this where we are now? 0:04:43.880 --> 0:04:47.440 But then I just started laughing, because honestly, we're all 0:04:47.600 --> 0:04:51.000 just out here trying to feel better, live longer, and 0:04:51.120 --> 0:04:53.240 to show up with a little more clarity. And if 0:04:53.279 --> 0:04:57.880 it's a salmon smoothie, so be it. Whether it's Candice 0:04:57.880 --> 0:05:02.599 Cameron Beret finding her strength in prayer, where Elizabeth Smart 0:05:02.680 --> 0:05:07.360 crushing marathons or Cameron matheson fostering dogs, we all have 0:05:07.839 --> 0:05:12.280 our things. My takeaway from twenty twenty five is that 0:05:12.440 --> 0:05:17.080 health isn't about following a rigid set of rules. It's 0:05:17.080 --> 0:05:21.000 about listening to people we trust, and most importantly, listening 0:05:21.279 --> 0:05:26.159 to our own intuition. It's about choosing what feels supportive 0:05:26.279 --> 0:05:31.000 instead of what feels like a punishment. As I look 0:05:31.040 --> 0:05:35.520 toward next year, I have this quiet hum of excitement 0:05:35.680 --> 0:05:39.240 in my chest. And I'll tell you why, because in 0:05:39.279 --> 0:05:42.960 twenty twenty six, I finally get to share something that 0:05:43.040 --> 0:05:46.640 I've been pouring my heart into all year. I have 0:05:46.720 --> 0:05:50.159 written a book. It's called You Guessed It. I Choose 0:05:50.200 --> 0:05:54.000 me when this isn't your typical Hollywood memoir its It's 0:05:54.000 --> 0:05:57.840 definitely not a highlight reel of my best moments. It's 0:05:57.880 --> 0:06:03.719 about the work, the hard, gentle, sometimes grueling work of 0:06:04.240 --> 0:06:11.000 finding actually know of coming back to myself. I'm talking 0:06:11.000 --> 0:06:15.000 about aging identity and the pressure we all feel as 0:06:15.040 --> 0:06:19.640 women to hold the whole world together while we're quietly 0:06:19.680 --> 0:06:24.080 falling apart inside. I share the boundaries I failed to 0:06:24.200 --> 0:06:28.240 set and the cost of ignoring my own needs. But 0:06:28.320 --> 0:06:39.000 I also share how I find the hope. I wanted 0:06:39.040 --> 0:06:44.279 to give you my podcast family the very first taste 0:06:44.320 --> 0:06:48.640 of it. So here is a never before heard excerpt 0:06:49.560 --> 0:06:54.840 from the introductory of my book, I Choose Me. In 0:06:55.000 --> 0:06:58.760 nineteen ninety five, Kelly Taylor made a choice. She stood 0:06:58.800 --> 0:07:03.600 between Brandon and Dylan, two of the most beloved characters 0:07:03.960 --> 0:07:05.920 on Beverly Hills nine O two one zero, and said, 0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:11.400 I choose Me. On the surface, it was a love triangle, 0:07:11.920 --> 0:07:16.280 a choice between two handsome, iconic young men who each 0:07:16.400 --> 0:07:21.040 offered their own version of love and validation. But beneath 0:07:21.080 --> 0:07:25.080 it was something deeper. Kelly was choosing whether to define 0:07:25.160 --> 0:07:29.640 herself through someone else or finally take ownership of her 0:07:29.640 --> 0:07:34.080 own life. That moment was a defining crossroads about so 0:07:34.360 --> 0:07:38.600 much more than romance. It was about self worth and 0:07:38.720 --> 0:07:43.840 independence and identity. It was a gentle act of rebellion. 0:07:45.240 --> 0:07:47.600 At the time, I didn't fully grasp the power of 0:07:47.640 --> 0:07:51.760 those words. I had no idea that one scene would 0:07:51.800 --> 0:07:54.360 stay with me for the rest of my life, or 0:07:54.400 --> 0:07:59.440 that years later it would become kind of a personal manifesto. 0:08:00.880 --> 0:08:05.840 That scene, that line echoed far beyond the west Beverly 0:08:05.960 --> 0:08:11.440 Hills High Halls. Back then, I was acting. But over 0:08:11.480 --> 0:08:16.000 the years I've started to live those words. Slowly, through 0:08:16.040 --> 0:08:21.720 seasons of heartbreak and healing, motherhood and identity loss, reinvention 0:08:21.920 --> 0:08:27.440 and self doubt, I began to understand the truth behind them. 0:08:28.000 --> 0:08:32.320 I Choose Me wasn't a plot twist. It was a decision, 0:08:33.160 --> 0:08:38.120 a quiet, radical act of reclaiming your life, And like 0:08:38.240 --> 0:08:43.240 all life changing decisions, it started small. This book is 0:08:43.280 --> 0:08:47.600 about that journey, the hard earned lessons, the painful moments 0:08:47.600 --> 0:08:52.640 of reckoning, the small decisions that slowly, steadily brought me 0:08:52.760 --> 0:08:57.440 home to myself. I'm looking back at some of the toughest, 0:08:58.000 --> 0:09:01.840 darkest moments of my life, not to dwell or romanticize them, 0:09:02.800 --> 0:09:06.680 but to understand the pain, to give it context, meaning, 0:09:07.320 --> 0:09:12.439 and purpose. I'm revisiting the confusion, the heartbreak, the pivots 0:09:12.480 --> 0:09:19.360 and unravelings, because that's where the real transformation happened. In 0:09:19.440 --> 0:09:23.720 telling the truth about those moments, I'm reclaiming them, and 0:09:23.760 --> 0:09:27.319 in doing so, I hope to remind you that it's 0:09:27.440 --> 0:09:31.080 never too late to return to yourself, to choose a 0:09:31.080 --> 0:09:35.000 different path, to write a new ending, or to finally 0:09:35.400 --> 0:09:38.920 begin again. I used to think my story needed to 0:09:38.960 --> 0:09:41.120 be wrapped up in a bow before I could share it, 0:09:42.160 --> 0:09:46.120 But I've learned that the most meaningful stories don't come 0:09:46.160 --> 0:09:50.920 from perfection. They come from the mess, the middle, the 0:09:51.040 --> 0:09:56.360 in between space where we're still figuring things out. That's 0:09:56.440 --> 0:10:01.640 what this book is, not a highlight reel, a real one. 0:10:01.840 --> 0:10:05.360 Our past doesn't define us, but it does inform us. 0:10:06.040 --> 0:10:09.160 When we look back at our lives, really go back 0:10:09.520 --> 0:10:13.480 with honesty and compassion, we don't just revisit where we've been. 0:10:13.600 --> 0:10:19.280 We uncover why and how we've survived. We remember who 0:10:19.320 --> 0:10:23.800 we are, and in doing so we begin again, not 0:10:24.040 --> 0:10:28.080 from scratch, but from wisdom. I choose Me as a 0:10:28.120 --> 0:10:32.280 memoir of becoming. It's about looking at the messy, beautiful, 0:10:32.360 --> 0:10:36.520 imperfect path that brought me here and saying I'm still 0:10:36.559 --> 0:10:41.800 standing and I'm finally standing for myself. It's a story 0:10:41.800 --> 0:10:46.320 of waking up, letting go, and reclaiming the parts of 0:10:46.400 --> 0:10:51.120 me I once gave away. I Choose Me is about 0:10:51.120 --> 0:10:55.400 becoming whole, not by erasing the past, but embracing it 0:10:55.440 --> 0:11:04.800 as the foundation for something stronger, truer and free. You guys, 0:11:03.200 --> 0:11:09.640 that's just the beginning. I cannot wait for this book, 0:11:09.720 --> 0:11:14.160 My Baby, to be out in the world. And yes, 0:11:14.200 --> 0:11:17.360 I will be narrating the audiobook too. You can actually 0:11:17.360 --> 0:11:20.679 pre order it now, which would be so incredibly helpful 0:11:20.880 --> 0:11:23.800 anywhere you buy your books and audio books. I hope 0:11:23.840 --> 0:11:25.720 you will, and I hope you are going to love it. 0:11:26.360 --> 0:11:29.920 In twenty twenty six, I'm so excited to say we 0:11:30.000 --> 0:11:35.000 are going to keep expanding this space, more deep conversations, 0:11:35.200 --> 0:11:39.480 more new voices, and more tools to help you and 0:11:39.640 --> 0:11:45.200 me navigate our own choices and reckonings. I want this 0:11:45.400 --> 0:11:49.600 space to remain your safe place, a place where you 0:11:49.640 --> 0:11:54.000 can show up exactly as you are. If twenty twenty 0:11:54.000 --> 0:11:59.160 five taught me anything, it's that connection is everything. None 0:11:59.200 --> 0:12:02.120 of us are meant to do this alone. We need 0:12:02.559 --> 0:12:06.200 the reminders that is okay to slow down, it's okay 0:12:06.240 --> 0:12:10.479 to change directions, and it is okay to choose ourselves 0:12:10.880 --> 0:12:14.960 again and again. So as we close out this year, 0:12:15.200 --> 0:12:18.000 I want to say thank you. Thank you for listening, 0:12:18.720 --> 0:12:21.880 thank you for growing with me, and for being part 0:12:21.960 --> 0:12:28.040 of this incredible community. Whatever you're carrying, give yourself permission 0:12:28.400 --> 0:12:33.079 to rest this week, reflect on how far you've come, 0:12:34.160 --> 0:12:40.720 Imagine what you want next for yourself, and then just breathe. 0:12:40.960 --> 0:12:43.920 I'm so grateful you're here. I love you all. I'll 0:12:43.920 --> 0:12:45.400 see you in twenty twenty six.