[Before & After] Meet Janelle
From Victimhood to Saying YES to Myself
The Joy Jedi Academy didn’t fix Janelle, it helped her remember who she’s always been.
My name’s Janelle. I’m 55 years old, single, and I share my home with my three-year-old dog and cat—my little chosen family. I’ve lived a full life, one that on the outside often looked capable, responsible, and “together.” But for many years, underneath that surface, I was exhausted, wounded, and profoundly disconnected from myself.
When I first found Joy Academy, I didn’t yet have language for what I needed. I only knew that I was tired of surviving my own life. I had spent years being the yes person—to work, to family, to expectations—while quietly abandoning myself. I carried grief, old hurts, and a deep sense of victimhood that I didn’t even realize had become part of my identity.
Before Joy Academy, I had worked one-on-one with Cathy, and looking back now… wow. I was so sad then. So raw. So lost. I didn’t see my own patterns clearly yet, but I felt them in my body every day.
Joy Academy didn’t “fix” me. It met me.
I’ve been part of Joy Academy before, but I had to step away and take 2024 off. That, in itself, was a new kind of wisdom for me—honoring my own timing instead of pushing through out of fear of falling behind. One of the things I love most about Joy Jedi Academy is that every time I return, it’s never the same experience. I’m never the same woman entering the room and definitely a better woman completing the Academy.
This most recent year—2025—marked a profound shift. Not loud. Not flashy. But deeply embodied.
If earlier years were about realizing how far I’d drifted from myself, this year was about learning how to come home. Slowly. Gently. Without guilt.
2025 became the year I learned to say YES to myself.
Yes to rest.
Yes to boundaries.
Yes to my body’s cues.
Yes to what felt nourishing instead of impressive.
And perhaps most importantly: yes, without fear of judgment, and yes, without apologizing.
I’ve always wanted to “get there” already—to arrive at some imagined version of healed, whole, complete. And sometimes I still feel that impatience rise up. But when I look back over the years—over the steady, layered changes that have taken place—I can see how much has shifted:
My nervous system is calmer.
My decisions are more aligned.
My life feels less reactive and more intentional.
I now understand that I’m on the slow-and-steady path of real-life change. The kind that lasts.
Joy Jedi Academy helped me move out of FOMO and into JOMO—choosing fewer things, deeper connections, and more honesty. I found my support tribe. I stopped trying to do everything alone. I stopped proving. I stopped performing wellness and started living it.
I feel more embodied now than I ever have. More discerning. More rooted. I trust myself in a way I didn’t before.
This work didn’t transform me into someone new. It is helping me shed who I had to become to survive—and remember who I’ve always been underneath.
And at this stage of my life, that feels like everything.
Cathy Weiss is a naturally-gifted Intuitive, Clairvoyant and Energy Healer. She’s guided smart, soulful women around the globe to shift out of overwhelm, embody more calm, and step into massive clarity and success. Get a taste of her magic with this Free 5-Minute Energy Healing - no email address needed!