Optimism And Reality: Lessons From Drew Barrymore

By Alicia Sparks
January 20, 2009

The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards - Arrivals

Whether they’re trying to or not, celebrities are always teaching us something, aren’t they? Not so much because they’re celebrities, but because they’re always in our faces so it’s pretty easy to learn from their failures and successes.

A recent Mirror article about Drew Barrymore highlights such failures and successes, stacking up Barrymore’s current career highs (how much she enjoyed doing Beverly Hills Chihuahua, how much she’s rolling in with each film, etc.) against her extensive resume of personal life lows (her troubled childhood and relationships with her parents, past substance abuse problems, failed marriages, etc.)

The upbeat optimism Barrymore maintains throughout the entire article, though, is something to not only be admired, but also maybe even mirrored.

Barrymore discusses the shift in priorities her latest trip into Singleville has brought as well as the importance of getting to know herself without the assistance of a siggie other, but perhaps the most poignant message comes in the last three paragraphs:

Looking back, Drew is philosophical about her unusual childhood and unconventional upbringing.

“You can’t live your life blaming your failures on your parents and what they did or didn’t do for you,” she says. “You’re dealt the cards that you’re dealt. I realised it was a waste of time to be angry at my parents.

“The best thing I can do is use all the things I’ve learned from them, good and bad, have my own family someday and just keep on going.”

Too right you are, Barrymore. Troubled childhoods, drug problems, relationship woes - none of these things have to be the end of our own personal worlds. The best thing we can all do is take what we learn from the various people and situations in our lives and apply those lessons as we carry on.