Emma Stone Shares the Hardest Lessons She Learned In Her 20s, Reminds Us Knowing Ourselves is a Lifelong Process

Life isn’t easy, and as we get older we learn a lot of tough lessons – that doesn’t change if you are rich and famous and living that life in the public eye.

In an amazing new interview with Elle, Stone sat down with one of her closest friends, actress Jennifer Lawrence, to talk about turning 30 and how it's made her reflect on the past decades and really realize what is most important to her.

“My twenties were a really interesting time, and there’s been a lot that has happened in these past 10 years, both positive and not as positive,” Stone said.

“It’s weird how much turning 30 crystallizes your life. Instead of just living the dreams that I had in my youth and getting to do the job that I love to do and making friends and going through all of that, it’s like, now what do I actively want as an adult?”

"When I was a teenager, I was in a real sweet spot," Stone explained in the interview with Lawrence. "Then in my mid-twenties, I really lost the spot. A lot of things shifted, and it felt like whatever that protective layer was, that mask that you build for yourself—this is my personality, this is who I am—totally shattered."

Stone shared a bit about how her life was changing in her twenties. Her parents were going through a divorce and that was also when her career was really taking off, and it was hard for her to really get to know the new version of herself she was becoming.

However, Stone said all this uncertainty made her realize her friendships were so incredibly important. “I think friendship is pretty much everything. Here’s another turning-30 thing I’ve realized: You pick your family. You realize that your friendships, the people who go with you into these next phases of your life – you’re choosing your family," she continued.

Stone said, that in relation to her friendship to Jennifer Lawrence, it was her endless loyalty that drew her to her as a friend. "You’ve been one of my most loyal friends for years," Stone said. "And I think knowing that you can laugh together and that not everything has to be such a big deal.