Los Angeles, March 31 : Hollywood star Drew Barrymore says she was "selfish" before she became a mother and "prefers" how she is since having children Olive and Frankie.

The 50-year-old has Olive, 12, and 10-year-old Frankie with her ex-husband Will Kopleman, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Responding to a fan who asked how long it took to readjust back to being herself after having a baby, she wrote in a piece of UsWeekly: "I'm still not myself. And I don't know if I will ever get back to the carefree, selfish person I was before children.'

'I can never not know this love and concern I have for my two daughters. It's consuming. I am just trying to embrace the new me. And I do prefer me now. I'm much more capable. Much more trustworthy. Much more admirable than I ever was. "

Despite this, the '51st Date' actress added that being childfree or a parent should both be "considered perfectly fulfilling roads" in life, and that "time" is the best way to learn about oneself.

That being said: 'motherhood' or 'otherhood' should be considered perfectly fulfilling roads. And may each one of them lead us to our better selves. I think this takes time, though. Maturity has so much to do with it. Time is the great teacher."

Meanwhile, Barrymore was then asked about how she manages to plan a family trip that caters to everyone's tastes and needs.

She said: "If one family member loves to be lazy and make no plans and lie around all day ' let them do that! And if other members are active and want to see a place and experience it for all it is, you just have to put together two different itineraries.

"One, the Lazy Man's Agenda, which is you let them figure it out for themselves! And tell them they'are always invited. No. 2, the people who want to be proactive, you search out restaurants, activities, traditions, sites to be seen or local off-the-beaten-path suggestions, and you can aggregate from simple Google searches or magazine clippings or friends who have been there."

/IANS