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Entertainment October 13, 2016
“Oh God. I just realized I’m stuck with me my whole life.”
Aside from her facetious (and actually mind-blowing) shower thoughts about pregnant women being “human submarines” or her extremely relatable Twitter posts, Anna Kendrick’s appeal comes from her self-deprecating humor and the positive examples she sets for women. Similar to the way audiences have fallen for Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Schumer’s “authenticity” in the entertainment business, Anna Kendrick has won hearts for being a refreshingly “real” woman in an increasingly fake world.
And for those who just can’t get enough of her regularly witty Twitter posts, there’s always Kendrick’s new book, “Scrappy Little Nobody,” to look forward to. Released November 15, this collection of autobiographical essays invites readers to share a charming retelling of her childhood, teenage and adult memories.
From her “dating experiments” to her familiar struggle of living like a “proper” adult woman, here are four lessons readers can expect to learn from “Scrappy Little Nobody.”
If you still can’t laugh at the time your braces got caught in your knitted sweater or when you mispronounced a word during your class presentation, then you’ve got a thing or two to learn from Anna Kendrick. This celebrity is known for her self-deprecating sense of humor. Whenever Kendrick talks about herself, she’s not hesitant to admit that she looks like a “hot mess” or joke about how her high school classmates never found her pretty.
“I didn’t feel I was extraordinary in terms of looks or academia. I was like, ‘Well, I can tell a joke and I can make one too. I’ve got that going for me!’ So I leaned into that,” Kendrick tells Glamour. “There was a sense of: I refuse to allow you to make me feel uncomfortable. That carried over into adulthood.”
Being able to laugh at yourself in a world that is often unnecessarily cruel and judgmental can help you accept what other people criticize. And even if that doesn’t work for you personally, at least being self-deprecating helps lower others’ high expectations. Kendrick feels this way too. “I get uncomfortable when people have high expectations,” she says. “I’d like to use this [book as an] opportunity to showcase my ineptitude, pettiness and the frequency with which I embarrass myself.”
Even if you’re constantly tripping on flat sidewalks and stumbling over your own words when you talk to cute people, Anna Kendrick reminds her readers to embrace every aspect of their personalities. Even if you’re sassy all day long or too awkward to hold a decent conversation with strangers, those traits are what make you who you are.
Besides, there’s a little “awkward” in everybody. “My favorite Beca is Struggling, Awkward Beca because I think that’s who we all are,” Kendrick says. “We want to be like Cool Beca [but] we’re not.”
So instead of trying to get rid of your awkward tendencies, learn to love them because they’re probably quite endearing.
In Glamour’s excerpt of “Scrappy Little Nobody,” Anna Kendrick shares the story of a devastating time in her love life and how she moved past it. She writes about how she struggled through the all-too-familiar “are we in a relationship or not” predicament with her musician (boy)friend, Connor. At the time, she was the “overeager” woman in his life who made him breakfast in the morning and adjusted her personality so that he would tolerate her.
“The idea of acknowledging the rejection hurt more than pretending the relationship might be going somewhere,” Kendrick writes.
He eventually dumped her. But through the tears, disappointment and frustration, she learned a valuable life lesson about her tendency to hold grudges. “It’s amazing the way uncalled-for meanness warmed my loathsome little heart,” Kendrick reflects. “I know it’s childish and lame, but you’re allowed to be a miserable shit for a while after you get dumped.” After that, however, you’ve got to take a step back and evaluate what you’re actually upset about.
In the end, whether or not you learn something profound, accept your emotions then move on. Even if they’re petty, you’re allowed to feel anything as long as you don’t continue to wallow in defeat.
But be warned, “No matter how upset you are, sleep on it.” Do as Kendrick does and sleep on your emotions before sending two-page diatribes to your ex.
For Anna Kendrick, her success is rooted in what she calls “a magical mixture” of hard work and “dumb luck.” Despite her seventh-grade teacher telling her that “most child actors don’t succeed as adult actors,” Kendrick kept acting because it was her dream. Now, she dismisses that comment saying, “[My teacher] just wanted to scare me into having a backup plan!”
And even after receiving various awards for her work, including a 2010 MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance in “Up in the Air” and a 2015 Teen Choice award for Choice Movie Actress in “Pitch Perfect 2,” Kendrick continues push herself. She keeps herself busy. Just last year, the actress had eight films on her roster, including “Pitch Perfect 2” and “The Accountant” (which releases in theaters on October 14th).
“If I could do everything, I would,” she tells Glamour. “The work revives you … I like working hard, as long as it’s not motivated by fear. I don’t want to keep doing it just because I’m afraid to take a break.”
Her passion fuels her and helps propel her to success. In 30 years, she hopes to still be happy about the work she’s doing. She tells Elle, “I just hope that I’m still working and enjoying it. I guess that’s what I hope I never lose sight of, that this is all supposed to be fun. This is my dream. I never want to get a place where I feel like I have to work just to keep with the Joneses or something. I hope I’m still enjoying it.”
Essentially, Kendrick shows women that pursuing your life’s passions is more powerful than working to simply make money. When you do something you love, it will continuously motivate you even when you’re busy, stressed or frustrated.
So for those of you looking to learn more about Anna Kendrick, her lifestyle and her advice, you can pre-order the book online from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Target. But if you just can’t wait for the upcoming release, read Anna Kendrick’s tweets to bide the time.
