Lindsay Lohan admits to 'poor decisions'

Lindsay Lohan, in a surprise appearance on Tuesday night's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," conceded she and others around her have made "poor decisions" that have helped turn her into a tabloid fixture.

"Being young and being in the position that I was in, you don't really take the time to appreciate what you have," she told Leno. "And it all is kind of a whirlwind and people make decisions for you, but I'm not a kid anymore. I'm 24. I made a lot of mistakes, and I recognize that. But I'm in the clear now, and I feel like as long as I stay focused, then I will be able to achieve what I want to achieve."

She told Leno that the 120-day jail sentence a judge handed down on Friday for probation violation, which is on hold pending appeal, "was definitely shocking. I was kind of numb." But, she added, "I think I was treated the way I should be treated."

The "Mean Girls" star admitted, "I made a lot of poor decisions in the past, and I'm dealing with the consequences of those decisions. . . . I know that I have to work to gain the [industry's] respect back." But she expressed optimism when Leno asked where she saw herself at age 30. "Hopefully sitting here after I've won an Oscar," she said. "That would be ideal. Work. Work. Work."

If she could change anything, she said, it would be "the public perception. I want public knowledge to be about my work, not about things that I didn't get into this business for, that I put myself into positions where that was a bigger story than what I was working on."

Lohan's appearance, taped separately at the conclusion of Monday night's show, was a late addition that pushed scheduled guest Kristin Chenoweth to another date, said The Associated Press.

Among those attending the taping, said TMZ.com, was Lohan defense attorney Shawn Holley, whose husband, Dorian Holley, is lead singer of "The Tonight Show" band.