At least, that's what Reese Witherspoon herself says. I love Reese, but I'm not sure about that!

"It isn't anything I chose in life, it just sort of happened that way," the Walk the Line Oscar winner, 33, said at Tuesday's Avon Foundation for Women charity event at New York's Cipriani 42nd Street, where she was the honorary co-chair. "We all just do the best we can. We're all just people trying to get through life however we can ... I'm thrilled to be any sort of inspiration to anyone!"

Reese also talked about her new fragrance with Avon, In Bloom.

"I just wanted a scent memory of my childhood in Tennessee growing up," she says. "A lot of it is white flowers and gardenias and things that I grew up in the backyard loving. Things that I smelled on my mother and my grandmother that really inspired a feeling of being back home."

It bet In Bloom smells lovely.

Photos by Wenn.com

Reese Witherspoon is missing her family. The ‘Monsters vs. Aliens’ actress - who was born in Louisiana, raised in Tennessee and now lives in Los Angeles - always thought she would settle down in her hometown and live near her parents and older brother.

“Sometimes it’s really difficult for me, being far away from home and living in Los Angeles. I never imagined that my children wouldn’t grow up next door to my brother’s children - or my mom and dad wouldn’t constantly be around.”

Reese - who has 10-year-old Ava and Deacon, five, with her ex-husband Ryan Phillippe - also revealed her homesickness has led her to establish a big group of friends who had a similar upbringing to her.

“At least I have a lot of southern friends in Los Angeles - I gravitate toward them.”

Reese should go home more often - she has the resources. Whenever the kids have a few days off from school, she should fly down to her parents. I bet she would really benefit from those short trips.

Did you move far away from your family? How do you handle the separation?

Reese Witherspoon loves exercising with friends. The 33-year-old actress struggles to find the time to work out and socialize, so arranges meetings with her pals at the gym. She told InStyle magazine:

“I try to exercise every day. I like to run for about an hour, and I'm big into working out with girlfriends.”

Reese has overhauled her life since her divorce from actor Ryan Phillippe – with who she has children Ava, 10, and five-year-old Deacon – in 2007.

The split encouraged the ‘Monsters Vs. Aliens’ actress to take more time out from work and do things she enjoys.

“You just have to keep going, you have to keep it together for your kids and yourself too. I'm trying to learn from the things that have happened in my life, live more in the moment, and have more fun.”

Among her hobbies is spending time with boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal at her farmhouse outside Los Angeles.

“Jake is a great cook, he does a lot. We spend the weekends at my farmhouse. We have chickens and we grow cucumbers and tomatoes. It reminds me of where I grew up in Tennessee.”

Getting back to the basics. I'm finding myself following that pattern as well. Not raising chickens in my backyard because I'm from NYC - I didn't even have grass growing up. What I mean is remembering what's important and losing that insatiable WANT for everything.