Looking at Christina Aguilera, most people see the perfect girl. She’s blonde, pretty and petite, with good style and an incredible singing voice. To top it off, she’s a pop star with a number 1 debut album and mega-hit song, “Genie In a Bottle.” Both have made her a household name. So one would think she has it all and that she must be the happiest girl on earth.

Look closer and you might see her differently. The first hint of life not being all that for 18-year-old Christina is in her song lyrics. Most of them explore topics about finding your own identity and the uncertainties of being a teenager. Right or wrong, somehow it’s comforting to think that her world isn’t any better than the rest of ours. The amazing thing is, when you talk to her, the girl who grew up admiring her mother and singers like Whitney Houston, Etta James, Billie Holiday and Mariah Carey, seems just like you or me.

drDrew.com: Where did you grow up?
Christina Aguilera: My dad was in the military so I grew up all over the place. From where I was born in Staten Island, New York to San Antonio, Texas. I also spent three years living in Japan, New Jersey, places like that. My hometown for my teen years is, I guess, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

drDrew.com: Was it hard for you to move around so much as a little girl?
CA: Yes it was. You don’t have that much time to make a base of friends when you have to leave all the time.

drDrew.com: What about now, do you have a group of friends?
CA: Yes, I do but it’s hard whenever you’re doing what I’m doing to find true friends. You know what I mean? Mostly because I had to leave school to travel and everything. Even though I had friends, I was the different one because I was always out doing things kids my own age didn’t do. Like at age 13, I did shows and was on the Mickey Mouse Club. I’d leave the school year early and come back late in the year. Whenever I’d come back people would either welcome me or they would shun me and say, “She thinks she’s better than us.” And that was totally not true. It was really hard for me because all I wanted to do was be a part of everyone else and be a normal kid. But a lot of times, people wouldn’t allow me to be that way because of how they perceived my lifestyle. People get jealous of your successes and it creates other problems.

drDrew.com: How do you come to grips with that on a personal level?
CA: I think society has created its own image of what is the perfect girl--like there’s a certain body that’s the right thing for girls to look like. Somehow young girls are brought up to believe that. I’m reading the book Reviving Ophelia about this woman who wrote all these facts down about how from a young age girls are really open about their ideas and opinions then once they reach adolescence, suddenly it changes. It’s a good book for girls to read about opening up their eyes. It says it’s OK to be confident and have opinions and to go out there and be something like a firefighter. As a girl, it’s really important to remind yourself of that.

drDrew.com: What do you do when the world just seems totally out of control?
CA: I pray and look within myself. I consider myself a very strong person. A lot of times you get pulled in different directions…it becomes about selling records and looking perfect. That’s when I have to turn to myself and realize why I got into this in the first place and that’s because I love doing it. Plus I have a really strong down-to-earth family base. If I’m ever out of check at all, they’ll make sure I get checked.