Speaker 1: You're listening to I Choose Me with Jenny Girl. Hi everyone,
Speaker 1: it's Jenny. Here. We are somehow we've made it to
Speaker 1: that strange, quiet pocket of time between Christmas and New Year's.
Speaker 1: It is that week where the world feels like it's
Speaker 1: holding its breath kind of, and I gotta be honest,
Speaker 1: I'm right there with it. I have. I've been doing
Speaker 1: what one does at the end of the year. I've
Speaker 1: been reflecting and sitting with all that has happened this
Speaker 1: past year, maybe even looking through some of my old journals,
Speaker 1: looking back at the last twelve months, and wow, twenty
Speaker 1: twenty five, what a ride. If I had to sum
Speaker 1: it up, it was a year for me of expansion,
Speaker 1: a year of throwing caution into the wind, really allowing
Speaker 1: myself to lead, not just myself, but also getting comfortable
Speaker 1: leading others in some helpful way. Hopefully. It's been a
Speaker 1: time of pushing past the comfort zones I tended to
Speaker 1: hang out in and sitting in unknown territory with new,
Speaker 1: unknown people all around me. It wasn't always comfortable, because
Speaker 1: you know, growth rarely is, and it doesn't come in
Speaker 1: a gift wrap box with a bow. Unfortunately, it usually
Speaker 1: comes through looking at the hard truths and realizing that
Speaker 1: healing isn't None of this is a sprint, It's all
Speaker 1: a marathon. This year asked a lot of me. It
Speaker 1: asked me to show up when I was exhausted. It
Speaker 1: asked me to listen even when the answers weren't what
Speaker 1: I want to say to hear. It asked me to
Speaker 1: trust the people around me even more. It asked me
Speaker 1: to believe in myself, which, if I'm being honest, is
Speaker 1: a daily practice for me. But mostly it reminded me
Speaker 1: to keep choosing myself. It reminded me that taking care
Speaker 1: of myself is worth the time and effort, even when
Speaker 1: it's not easy, and even when it's the smallest, most quiet,
Speaker 1: ordinary moments when no one's watching. So one of the
Speaker 1: best parts of twenty twenty five has been this podcast,
Speaker 1: You guys. Being here with all of you and getting
Speaker 1: to sit across from people who are willing to be
Speaker 1: raw and vulnerable has really changed me in ways I
Speaker 1: did not expect. For instance, Jason Priestley. Talking with Jason
Speaker 1: was like a warm hug from the past, and it
Speaker 1: really reminded me how wild it is that we have
Speaker 1: grown up in public. It takes a massive amount of
Speaker 1: grace to evolve when everyone thinks they already know you're ending.
Speaker 1: And there's just such power in being seen by someone
Speaker 1: who knew you then and still chooses to see you now.
Speaker 1: Deepak Chopra really expanded my brain. After the mics were off,
Speaker 1: I kept thinking about what he said, that healing isn't
Speaker 1: just physical or emotional, it's spiritual. Our inner world is
Speaker 1: the designer, the architect of the outer one. And then
Speaker 1: Barbara Heeden, Oh my gosh, can we just talk about
Speaker 1: pure magic? She is a beacon. She taught me that longevity,
Speaker 1: whether in your career or in your life, it isn't
Speaker 1: about perfection. It's about staying curious. It's about staying open
Speaker 1: and letting yourself change without losing who you truly are
Speaker 1: at your core. I also dove deep into the world
Speaker 1: of health this year, and let me tell you, it
Speaker 1: is a wild West out there. I have learned that
Speaker 1: wellness is so deeply personal. It's experimental, it's messy, and
Speaker 1: sometimes it's just plain weird. You guys. Take my friend
Speaker 1: doctor Nicholas Parcone, for example. I adore him, but the
Speaker 1: man drinks salmon smoothies, yes, blended fish. I remember listening
Speaker 1: to him and thinking, is this is this what I
Speaker 1: have to do next? Is this where we are now?
Speaker 1: But then I just started laughing, because honestly, we're all
Speaker 1: just out here trying to feel better, live longer, and
Speaker 1: to show up with a little more clarity. And if
Speaker 1: it's a salmon smoothie, so be it. Whether it's Candice
Speaker 1: Cameron Beret finding her strength in prayer, where Elizabeth Smart
Speaker 1: crushing marathons or Cameron matheson fostering dogs, we all have
Speaker 1: our things. My takeaway from twenty twenty five is that
Speaker 1: health isn't about following a rigid set of rules. It's
Speaker 1: about listening to people we trust, and most importantly, listening
Speaker 1: to our own intuition. It's about choosing what feels supportive
Speaker 1: instead of what feels like a punishment. As I look
Speaker 1: toward next year, I have this quiet hum of excitement
Speaker 1: in my chest. And I'll tell you why, because in
Speaker 1: twenty twenty six, I finally get to share something that
Speaker 1: I've been pouring my heart into all year. I have
Speaker 1: written a book. It's called You Guessed It. I Choose
Speaker 1: me when this isn't your typical Hollywood memoir its It's
Speaker 1: definitely not a highlight reel of my best moments. It's
Speaker 1: about the work, the hard, gentle, sometimes grueling work of
Speaker 1: finding actually know of coming back to myself. I'm talking
Speaker 1: about aging identity and the pressure we all feel as
Speaker 1: women to hold the whole world together while we're quietly
Speaker 1: falling apart inside. I share the boundaries I failed to
Speaker 1: set and the cost of ignoring my own needs. But
Speaker 1: I also share how I find the hope. I wanted
Speaker 1: to give you my podcast family the very first taste
Speaker 1: of it. So here is a never before heard excerpt
Speaker 1: from the introductory of my book, I Choose Me. In
Speaker 1: nineteen ninety five, Kelly Taylor made a choice. She stood
Speaker 1: between Brandon and Dylan, two of the most beloved characters
Speaker 1: on Beverly Hills nine O two one zero, and said,
Speaker 1: I choose Me. On the surface, it was a love triangle,
Speaker 1: a choice between two handsome, iconic young men who each
Speaker 1: offered their own version of love and validation. But beneath
Speaker 1: it was something deeper. Kelly was choosing whether to define
Speaker 1: herself through someone else or finally take ownership of her
Speaker 1: own life. That moment was a defining crossroads about so
Speaker 1: much more than romance. It was about self worth and
Speaker 1: independence and identity. It was a gentle act of rebellion.
Speaker 1: At the time, I didn't fully grasp the power of
Speaker 1: those words. I had no idea that one scene would
Speaker 1: stay with me for the rest of my life, or
Speaker 1: that years later it would become kind of a personal manifesto.
Speaker 1: That scene, that line echoed far beyond the west Beverly
Speaker 1: Hills High Halls. Back then, I was acting. But over
Speaker 1: the years I've started to live those words. Slowly, through
Speaker 1: seasons of heartbreak and healing, motherhood and identity loss, reinvention
Speaker 1: and self doubt, I began to understand the truth behind them.
Speaker 1: I Choose Me wasn't a plot twist. It was a decision,
Speaker 1: a quiet, radical act of reclaiming your life, And like
Speaker 1: all life changing decisions, it started small. This book is
Speaker 1: about that journey, the hard earned lessons, the painful moments
Speaker 1: of reckoning, the small decisions that slowly, steadily brought me
Speaker 1: home to myself. I'm looking back at some of the toughest,
Speaker 1: darkest moments of my life, not to dwell or romanticize them,
Speaker 1: but to understand the pain, to give it context, meaning,
Speaker 1: and purpose. I'm revisiting the confusion, the heartbreak, the pivots
Speaker 1: and unravelings, because that's where the real transformation happened. In
Speaker 1: telling the truth about those moments, I'm reclaiming them, and
Speaker 1: in doing so, I hope to remind you that it's
Speaker 1: never too late to return to yourself, to choose a
Speaker 1: different path, to write a new ending, or to finally
Speaker 1: begin again. I used to think my story needed to
Speaker 1: be wrapped up in a bow before I could share it,
Speaker 1: But I've learned that the most meaningful stories don't come
Speaker 1: from perfection. They come from the mess, the middle, the
Speaker 1: in between space where we're still figuring things out. That's
Speaker 1: what this book is, not a highlight reel, a real one.
Speaker 1: Our past doesn't define us, but it does inform us.
Speaker 1: When we look back at our lives, really go back
Speaker 1: with honesty and compassion, we don't just revisit where we've been.
Speaker 1: We uncover why and how we've survived. We remember who
Speaker 1: we are, and in doing so we begin again, not
Speaker 1: from scratch, but from wisdom. I choose Me as a
Speaker 1: memoir of becoming. It's about looking at the messy, beautiful,
Speaker 1: imperfect path that brought me here and saying I'm still
Speaker 1: standing and I'm finally standing for myself. It's a story
Speaker 1: of waking up, letting go, and reclaiming the parts of
Speaker 1: me I once gave away. I Choose Me is about
Speaker 1: becoming whole, not by erasing the past, but embracing it
Speaker 1: as the foundation for something stronger, truer and free. You guys,
Speaker 1: that's just the beginning. I cannot wait for this book,
Speaker 1: My Baby, to be out in the world. And yes,
Speaker 1: I will be narrating the audiobook too. You can actually
Speaker 1: pre order it now, which would be so incredibly helpful
Speaker 1: anywhere you buy your books and audio books. I hope
Speaker 1: you will, and I hope you are going to love it.
Speaker 1: In twenty twenty six, I'm so excited to say we
Speaker 1: are going to keep expanding this space, more deep conversations,
Speaker 1: more new voices, and more tools to help you and
Speaker 1: me navigate our own choices and reckonings. I want this
Speaker 1: space to remain your safe place, a place where you
Speaker 1: can show up exactly as you are. If twenty twenty
Speaker 1: five taught me anything, it's that connection is everything. None
Speaker 1: of us are meant to do this alone. We need
Speaker 1: the reminders that is okay to slow down, it's okay
Speaker 1: to change directions, and it is okay to choose ourselves
Speaker 1: again and again. So as we close out this year,
Speaker 1: I want to say thank you. Thank you for listening,
Speaker 1: thank you for growing with me, and for being part
Speaker 1: of this incredible community. Whatever you're carrying, give yourself permission
Speaker 1: to rest this week, reflect on how far you've come,
Speaker 1: Imagine what you want next for yourself, and then just breathe.
Speaker 1: I'm so grateful you're here. I love you all. I'll
Speaker 1: see you in twenty twenty six.