Despite the fact she had a movie made about her life (in 2000, staring Julia Roberts) that made her a household name, she remains to this day a fairly regular person. She faces struggles like everyone else and has her share of bad days. But after learning the power of personal choice, she chooses to deal with bad days differently now.

Calling herself a reluctant celebrity, Brockvich uses her notoriety to encourage personal empowerment and inspire others to stand up for what's right. She talks about life since the famous case that changed the lives of hundreds of people, including her own. Brockovich will share her message at the YWCA Snohomish County Benefit Luncheon on Thursday, April 19 at the Everett Events Center.

Brockovich overcame adversity with determination and strength she says she learned from her parents - mainly her father, who is now 84. "The same lessons my father taught me were staring me in the face at Hinkley. Our choices we make in a situation drive the outcome. Unbeknownst to me, I was driving an outcome," said Brockovich of her involvement in the case. "I was making the right choices for the right reasons and it resulted in a very good outcome. Making the right choice can sometimes be a very unpopular thing to do, but you've got to stand by that."

Brockovich's down-to-earth demeanor and "regular person" status make her easily relatable to her audiences. Having continued working at Masry & Vititoe, the law firm that took on the Hinkley case, as Director of Research, and most recently as president of Brockovich Research & Consulting, where she is involved in numerous environmental cases, she talks about issues such as climate change in her public addresses and encourages individuals to do something about it. "That's a pretty overwhelming task," she admits. "How can I as one individual do something? Well you sure can. It's the same way as Hinkley. How could I as one take on PG&E? When one person does something then it gets to another and then two become four, and then it grows to 600. You make a difference and then things can happen."

Brockovich's favorite movie is actually not the one that bears her name, but Pay It Forward. "I watched it with deep, profound thought. It's all about your intentions in your heart," she said. "I truly believe my intentions (in the Hinkley case) weren't anything other than what it was, other than an act of kindness to help another. We never embarked on this thinking there would be a movie, or that it would star Julia Roberts, or that she'd win her Academy Award, or that we'd settle for $333 million.

"I question myself every single day - why am I really doing this? I think we need to ask ourselves that because if it isn't for a purpose that's true and spiritually inclined to want to help another person, which is what I think we're supposed to be doing, it's not going to work. The outcome is not going to be what you want it to be," she said.

Brockovich said many people assumed after she received her multi-million dollar bonus for her years of hard work and dedication to the case, that she was set for life. But life threw even this reluctant celebrity a few curve balls. Two of her three kids (now 24, 22 and 16) have struggled with drug problems. "I'm so thankful for that money," said Brockovich, who was able to invest her bonus into the lives of her kids. She and her oldest daughter, Katie, are now working on ways to make such help more available to families who need it. "Getting kids the help they need is something I want to get more involved in. Drugs are a huge epidemic in our country and so many kids don't have the funds to get the help they need."

Speaking at the YWCA fundraising luncheon is one way she supports agencies that assist those in need. "The YWCA is a perfect example of an organization and a group of people who are making change for others," she said. "And if I can get on a platform to help others help another - ­that's what we all have to do to pay it forward. That's what keeps making everything work."

For more information, or to make a reservation for the YWCA Snohomish County Benefit Luncheon on April 19, call (206) 461-4450 or email . There is a suggested donation of $100 per guest.