Matthew Perry beautifully shared how he wanted to be remembered a year before his death
"When I die, I don't want 'Friends' to be the first thing that's mentioned."
Matthew Perry died unexpected on Oct 28
In the wake of Matthew Perry’s sudden death by apparent drowning on Oct 28, heartfelt tributes have been rolling in commemorating the actor for his iconic comedy roles—primarily his beloved character of Chandler Bing on the quintessential millennial sitcom “Friends.”
And while his charming, sardonic onscreen persona brought endless amounts of joy for fans, he would tell it wasn’t his biggest accomplishment. In fact, none of his acting roles were.
A year prior to his death, Perry had released his memoir, “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” where he opened up about his decades long sobriety journey from opioid addiction.While promoting the book on the “Q with Tom Power” podcast, Perry revealed what he actually hoped would be his lasting legacy.
“I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in my life but the best thing about me, bar none, is that if an alcoholic or drug addict comes up to me and says, ‘Will you help me?’ I will always say ‘Yes, I know how to do that. I will do that for you, even if I can’t always do it for myself.’ So I do that, whenever I can. In groups, or one on one,” he told Power.
“I would like to be remembered as somebody who lived well, loved well, was a seeker. And [my] paramount thing is that [I] want to help people…” the actor continued, adding that his call to be of service led him to creating the Perry House in Malibu, a sober-living facility for men as well as his play, “The End of Longing,” written as a “personal message” to those struggling with addiction, or those who love someone with addiction.
And though Perry prioritized these contributions over his career, he was also a consummate realist…with a sense of humor.
“When I die, I know people will talk about Friends, Friends, Friends. And I’m glad of that, happy I’ve done some solid work as an actor, as well as given people multiple chances to make fun of my struggles on the world wide web…But when I die, as far as my so-called accomplishments go, it would be nice if Friends were listed far behind the things I did to try to help other people. I know it won’t happen, but it would be nice,” he said.
Following Perry’s passing at the age of 54, this powerful interview began making the rounds on social media once again, with countless fans noting how his words will indeed help those on the road to recovery.
Here is just a small sampling of what folks are saying:
“Rest in peace Matthew Perry. I'm sure your book will help countless other addicts and their families. We will miss your honesty, humbleness, and humor.”
“From an Irish family, full of drinking, arguments, death, I am so desperately sorry that MP has come to an early end. My son is recovering, I have sent this to him. Thank you. RIP Matthew Perry.”
“RIP. Your ability to voice how an addict feels, how their brain works, and what that means for them has helped me as I’ve processed alcoholic family members and friends’ lives. Thank you for bringing light to this.”
“His transparency and harsh honesty here about his addiction will stick with me forever. It's not easy. RIP brother.”
These are the lessons we all come to learn one way or another. One, that the human heart doesn’t necessarily measure success by fame or fortune, but by how we were able to make an impact for others. And two, that opening up about our struggles just might be the very thing to help us, all of us, heal.
Thank Matthew. For the laughs and for the honesty.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
A Generation Jones teenager poses in her room.Image via Wikmedia Commons
An office kitchen.via 
An angry man eating spaghetti.via 
At least it wasn't Bubbles. 
You just know there's a person named Whiskey out there getting a kick out of this. 
An Irish woman went to the doctor for a routine eye exam. She left with bright neon green eyes.
It's not easy seeing green.
Did she get superpowers?
Going to the eye doctor can be a hassle and a pain. It's not just the routine issues and inconveniences that come along when making a doctor appointment, but sometimes the various devices being used to check your eyes' health feel invasive and uncomfortable. But at least at the end of the appointment, most of us don't look like we're turning into The Incredible Hulk. That wasn't the case for one Irish woman.
Photographer Margerita B. Wargola was just going in for a routine eye exam at the hospital but ended up leaving with her eyes a shocking, bright neon green.
At the doctor's office, the nurse practitioner was prepping Wargola for a test with a machine that Wargola had experienced before. Before the test started, Wargola presumed the nurse had dropped some saline into her eyes, as they were feeling dry. After she blinked, everything went yellow.
Wargola and the nurse initially panicked. Neither knew what was going on as Wargola suddenly had yellow vision and radioactive-looking green eyes. After the initial shock, both realized the issue: the nurse forgot to ask Wargola to remove her contact lenses before putting contrast drops in her eyes for the exam. Wargola and the nurse quickly removed the lenses from her eyes and washed them thoroughly with saline. Fortunately, Wargola's eyes were unharmed. Unfortunately, her contacts were permanently stained and she didn't bring a spare pair.
- YouTube youtube.com
Since she has poor vision, Wargola was forced to drive herself home after the eye exam wearing the neon-green contact lenses that make her look like a member of the Green Lantern Corps. She couldn't help but laugh at her predicament and recorded a video explaining it all on social media. Since then, her video has sparked a couple Reddit threads and collected a bunch of comments on Instagram:
“But the REAL question is: do you now have X-Ray vision?”
“You can just say you're a superhero.”
“I would make a few stops on the way home just to freak some people out!”
“I would have lived it up! Grab a coffee, do grocery shopping, walk around a shopping center.”
“This one would pair well with that girl who ate something with turmeric with her invisalign on and walked around Paris smiling at people with seemingly BRIGHT YELLOW TEETH.”
“I would save those for fancy special occasions! WOW!”
“Every time I'd stop I'd turn slowly and stare at the person in the car next to me.”
“Keep them. Tell people what to do. They’ll do your bidding.”
In a follow-up Instagram video, Wargola showed her followers that she was safe at home with normal eyes, showing that the damaged contact lenses were so stained that they turned the saline solution in her contacts case into a bright Gatorade yellow. She wasn't mad at the nurse and, in fact, plans on keeping the lenses to wear on St. Patrick's Day or some other special occasion.
While no harm was done and a good laugh was had, it's still best for doctors, nurses, and patients alike to double-check and ask or tell if contact lenses are being worn before each eye test. If not, there might be more than ultra-green eyes to worry about.