This is the first scene of the first episode of Parks and Recreation and honestly like HOW COULD I HAVE KNOWN
HOW COULD ANY OF US HAVE KNOWN
Leslie Knope taught me four thousand and fifty four very important things but really they sum up to just a few:
Be kind. Even when youâre really mad. Even when youâre the maddest youâve ever been. Yell at someone when theyâre horrible to you but no low blows (except for that one time with Benâs decapitated head on a stick in front of his weeping mother.) Apologize when you fall short. Pick someone else up when they do. Being kind is not the same as being nice; you donât always have to be nice, but you should always try to be kind.Â
Be brave. Try things that scare you. Speak up for yourself and your friends. Speak up to your friends when theyâre causing you pain. If you try and fail, cry about it, then figure it out and move forward. Love people fearlessly, even after youâve been hurt. Be earnest. Be present. Give yourself room to grow. Forgive yourself when things go wrong. Remember that tomorrow is a second chance.
Be yourself. Be as much of yourself as you want to be, all the time. Be loud, be intense, be ambitious, be defensive, be sad, be angry, be unapologetic about anything you are that isnât hurting other people â and when other people tell you that youâre hurting them, apologize and be better (like leaving Ben 36 voicemails and then choosing to leave him only one and then arriving at the Smallest Park and asking what he wants oh my god season 4 was so good you guys).Â
Youâre not alone. Your friends love you because you love them. Real love is a two-way street that everybody should be sending waffle trucks down.
Nothing is forever. But the next thing is gonna be pretty awesome.
Thank you, Leslie. Love you.