I Choose Me

When young girls write to me on Instagram, a lot of them want to know what I think about body image and how that relates to my experience modeling. So, today, I share my modeling journey — the good, the bad, and the ugly — and explore how that influenced some of my thoughts about bodies. Resources: Connect with me on Instagram: @NadineLeopold (https://www.instagram.com/nadineleopold/) I Choose Me is a production of (http://crate.media)

Today’s guest has an incredible life story and she has accomplished so so much in her life, but she had to navigate a world and industry full of racism to do it. Nadia Araujo starts an open conversation about how she’s experienced racism over the years, how she thinks everyone can be better, and how racism manifests in the modeling industry. If you don’t experience racism in your life, you can’t just ignore the topic and try to go through the rest of your life blind. Being silent is being complicit in the perpetuation of injustice. We have to stand up, take accountability, and earnestly try to do better. Resources: Connect with me on Instagram: @NadineLeopold (https://www.instagram.com/nadineleopold/) Connect with Nadia: @nadia.araujo (https://www.instagram.com/nadia.araujo/) I Choose Me is a production of (http://crate.media)

While I originally created this show to speak to young girls, I was excited to discover that I also have a lot of parents listening. I think it’s so important for parents to hear about the struggles that so many of their children go through, often silently. Today, I’m going to address an area where these things really intersect: divorce. There’s a lot to consider during and after a divorce, both as parents and as kids. There’s a lot that kids don’t see, and vice versa.  So, I want to share my experience with divorce, why it’s hard for many young kids to reckon with seeing their parents as vulnerable people for the first time, what went through my head as I watched it happen, some perspective I wish I’d had at the time, and what I think parents can do to help their kids make it through this difficult transition without hurting too much. Resources: Connect with me on Instagram: @NadineLeopold (https://www.instagram.com/nadineleopold/) I Choose Me is a production of (http://crate.media)

After last week’s episode about purpose, I sat down with my friend Jenna Zoe to look at the topic from a new lens. Jenna specializes in Human Design, a new system of self-discovery helping reconnect people to who they came to be. And what I love so much about her work is that it focuses onde-conditioning, or unlearning who you were told to be so that you can be who you truly are as a person. The way Jenna explains things helps me look at life differently, and I hope she does the same for you. Resources: Learn more about human design at www.jennazoe.com (https://www.jennazoe.com/) Instagram: @jennazoe (https://www.instagram.com/jennazoe/) Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/humandesignwithjennazoe (https://www.facebook.com/groups/humandesignwithjennazoe/) Website: http://www.myhumandesign.com/ (http://www.myhumandesign.com/) Connect with me on Instagram: @NadineLeopold (https://www.instagram.com/nadineleopold/) I Choose Me is a production of (http://crate.media)

There’s one question I get asked more than just about anything else: “How do I find my purpose?” People see my life on Instagram and see where I’m at now, but they don’t see the years I spent struggling with questions just like that. That’s part of the reason I wanted to start this show — to lay the realities of life bare on the table so that we can talk about these things that everyone grapples with but no one wants to talk about. Resources: Connect with me on Instagram: @NadineLeopold (https://www.instagram.com/nadineleopold/) I Choose Me is a production of (http://crate.media)

Since starting the show, I’ve had a lot of girls reach out to me with questions about bullying. I actually experienced a lot of bullying as a kid, I had to move schools at one point and ultimately dropped out when I was 17, but I honestly can’t imagine how much harder it must be to grow up in an era of social media. I don’t think it’s going to surprise anyone to learn that kids can be brutal to each other, mostly due to a lack of awareness and development more than genuine malice, and the internet just makes it easier because the bully is able to distance themselves from their actions. So, today, I share my story and offer a little perspective that I hope will help you live with less anxiety and stress. Resources: Connect with me on Instagram: @NadineLeopold (https://www.instagram.com/nadineleopold/) I Choose Me is a production of (http://crate.media)

After last week’s episode, I had so many young women reaching out to me and sharing their own stories of abuse. Today, I’m sharing some of those stories, as well as the advice that these women would give to their younger selves. Almost every girl you know or will meet has experienced abuse in one form or another, and it’s not given nearly the attention it should be — we’re talking about something that affects nearly 51% of the population here (and that’s not even counting all of the men and nonbinary individuals who experience abuse, too, and whose experiences are no less valid). This is not acceptable, but too often, we are made to feel shame, guilt, and embarrassment when we are honest about our experiences — but not here. This episode is dedicated to raising awareness about how common abuse is for young girls. This episode is dedicated to all of the young women who can’t share their stories. This episode is dedicated to a better future for all people. Resources: Connect with me on Instagram: @NadineLeopold (https://www.instagram.com/nadineleopold/) I Choose Me is a production of (http://crate.media)

On this show, I want to share the kinds of stories that most people never hear, that many people may never be able to safely share at all or can only whisper in private conversations with their best friend. I think these stories are important because, when we don’t share them, too many of us end up unknowingly following the same scripts — and too many young girls end up feeling alone, isolated, and scared. Today’s guest is one of my best friends, and her story is as raw, vulnerable, and necessary as they get, covering a critical topic: abuse in relationships. Many people aren’t aware of what toxic behavior looks like and don’t realize they’re entering into unsafe relationships until it’s too late, or they’re not aware of the many different forms that abuse can take, and this is partly because most of us don’t hear stories about it — and that’s because those that perpetuate abuse don’t want these stories told. These stories are hard to tell. Heck, they’re hard to listen to. But it’s important to understand that it’s not your fault and you’re not alone if you have been or are currently in a similar situation. It’s important to understand what life can be like on the other end of it. It’s important to understand that there are people who will offer you their support. It’s important to understand what it might look like when someone you know is in a bad situation and how you might be able to lend support without making their situation less safe. Resources: Connect with me on Instagram: @NadineLeopold (https://www.instagram.com/nadineleopold/) Connect with Megan on Instagram: @meganmayw (https://www.instagram.com/meganmayw/?hl=en) I Choose Me is a production of (http://crate.media)

Since launching the show, I’ve been receiving a lot of questions on Instagram and by email—and I love it! It’s so powerful to know that people are listening, and it’s even more powerful that we’re able to connect on this deeper level. So, today, I’m going to answer some of your questions, and I plan to continue doing these Q&A episodes regularly. So, if you have any questions you’d like answered or a story you’d like to share, please reach out to me on Instagram: @NadineLeopold (https://www.instagram.com/nadineleopold/). You can trust that I will not share any personal information or any details that you do not wish to be shared. This is a safe space, and I just want to help as best as I can. Resources: Connect with me on Instagram: @NadineLeopold (https://www.instagram.com/nadineleopold/) I Choose Me is a production of (http://crate.media)

Today we have our first guest on the show! I am so happy and so grateful because Bridget was the person who I heard share their story about their relationship with food and their body. She is the person who inspired me to speak out about my eating disorder and I wouldn’t be where I am today without her. Resources: Connect with Bridget: @BridgetMalcolm (http://www.instagram.com/bridgetmalcolm) Connect with me on Instagram: @NadineLeopold (https://www.instagram.com/nadineleopold/) I Choose Me is a production of (http://crate.media)

In one way or another, everyone grows up telling themselves a story about their body — a story that is reinforced through social media, through pop culture, through our parents’ and friends’ expectations. So it’s no wonder that nearly every girl ends up struggling with their relationship to food and their body at some point while they’re growing up, and social media is just magnifying the pressure that young adults feel to look and act a certain way. I want you to know that you’re not alone. I’m still struggling with this today. You shouldn’t be embarrassed or ashamed, and there is support out there. So, today, I’m going to talk about how I came to acknowledge what was happening in my life and start processing it. You don’t have to walk this path alone. Connect with me on Instagram: @NadineLeopold (https://www.instagram.com/nadineleopold/) I Choose Me is a production of (http://crate.media)

When I first started opening up about the crappy experiences I went through from the ages of 14 to 25, my DMs were flooded with young girls sharing their own pain. This is such a defining period of your life, and many of us go through extreme hardship, but it’s not something we speak about very often — but we SHOULD be sharing how these years transform us, the good and the bad. If I had heard other girls share their stories with me when I was younger, I might have been able to make some different choices in my life. I can’t change that now, but I can provide a platform for stories + support to all of the girls who need that now. Connect with me on Instagram: @NadineLeopold (https://www.instagram.com/nadineleopold/) I Choose Me is a production of (http://crate.media)

My name is Nadine Leopold and I have been working as a model for over 10 years. I have walked on runways, I’ve done magazine covers, and I’ve worked for Victora’s Secret. But there’s so much more to my story than you will see on Instagram. My whole life, I was so focused on making other people happy and doing what I was “supposed to do” that I completely lost myself. I cared so much about what other people thought, I cared so much about other people’s approval, and then one day I looked in the mirror and realized that I didn’t like the person looking back at me. That’s when I said to myself, “I Choose Me.” So I created I Choose Me as a platform to share these stories; to start conversations about mental health, about those dark times that so many of us go through but so few of us feel safe talking about. I know that, if I had heard other girls were going through the same things, it would have been a lot easier for me to make different choices — and I don’t want any more girls to be lost like that. My name is Nadine Leopold and I Choose Me. Connect with me on Instagram: (https://www.instagram.com/nadineleopold/)