MY LESSONS FROM life
Actress Michelle Collins, currently on stage in a new comedy drama, chats to Yours about family values and staying positive
Mum’s values shaped my life
My mother, Mary, brought up my older sister, Vicki, and me single-handedly and she taught me an awful lot. You don’t realise it at the time but the values instilled in you in your formative years serve you well for the rest of your life – as well as inform the way you raise your own children. I’m talking about humility, about listening to people who are older than you.
Good manners are so important
I’m really hot on manners and I think they are going out the window. My daughter. Maia is 20 now and she has beautiful manners, something that makes me proud.
I’m proud of my daughter
It’s difficult being strict if you’re a single parent because you’re Mum, Dad, everything. I think I was firm and reasonable, but then Maia was pretty good. She had her moments as kids do and it’s hard if you’re juggling all that with a career. But we’re still very close.
Empty nesting is hard
I found adapting to the empty nest really difficult. Maia’s my only child and I brought her up pretty much on my own so waving her off to Bristol University was a really weird experience. I can understand how people get depressed in those circumstances. I’m glad I could throw myself into my work.
Learn from your mistakes
I don’t believe people who say they have no regrets. There’s no doubt you learn from your mistakes; when you look back, you realise something good came out of something bad.
Be positive!
I’m a hopeful, glasshalf-full type and always have been. Like many people in this industry, I’ve had a lot of ups and downs. And actors are terrible moaners. But I’d describe myself as positive.
I’m an insomniac!
I have an app on my phone which helps soothe me back to sleep with gentle music if I wake up in the middle of the night. I do a lot of exercise because it tires me out. I think women suffer from insomnia more than men because we’re terrible worriers.
Challenges are good
There are so many things I’d like to do. I may be in my mid-50s but I haven’t lost my ambition. I’ve always liked a challenge.