The Mayor Of Pawnee Has Spoken: Life Lessons from Parks and Recreation
It began as a bonding activity between my brother and I as we ate our meals together — a short and funny sitcom that we could laugh over. Initially, I thought it was OK as I wasn’t really into watching TV series (the longest I got so far was The Office S2), and so decided to give Parks and Recreation a go. Over time, I really began to like the series, and enjoyed the character development and plot twists.
After finishing the entire series (woohoo, achievement unlocked!), I realised that I learnt a lot through watching this sitcom. You might be thinking — what can you possibly have learnt from a TV series? Well, hold on to your horses (or Little Sebastian if you’re lucky), and let me share with you the key lessons I’ve learnt from the citizens of Pawnee, Indiana.
1. Perseverance
I think perseverance and resilience is a key lesson we can gather from this entire series. This is evident through Leslie’s journey to become the first woman mayor of Pawnee, as she relentlessly worked hard and fought to improve the lives of her citizens. Despite getting so much resistance to start her park at the pit-hole — protests, bad media coverage — she still persisted and kept going through rain or shine.
Another great example is Andy. Beginning as a low-wage shoeshiner in the offices, he slowly worked his way up, taking on Ron and April’s advice to study hard and apply for his police job (though it didn’t work out), and eventually becoming a charity manager based in London.
I think that these two examples really embody what grit and resilience is — the determination to keep going even when times get rough, and to see it through to the very end.
2. Don’t judge a book by its cover
I think this lesson really echoes with me. In today’s society, it’s really easy to just judge someone based on appearances alone — our first impression is often made in the first few seconds upon meeting someone just by looking at their facial features. This can be misleading and result in incorrect conclusions, since how a person looks has no correlation to their personality nor character.
For instance, I really disliked April from the beginning — she was so gloomy, always complaining and slacking off work. However, as I continued the series, I saw how her character matured and developed.
She transformed into a really dedicated secretary and great friend of Leslie and Ann, a wonderfully supportive girlfriend for Andy and surprised me by being an avid pet-lover and advocate.
Thus, I think it’s important for us to consciously stop ourselves from passing judgement on someone without getting to know them first. First impressions can be useful, granted; but I believe so many more relationships and friendships can blossom if we take the time to truly learn about a person and who they are, what they stand for, etc.
3. Do what you love and do it well
I believe the two characters that truly embody this are none other than Leslie and Ron. Leslie loves her job to the point of worship — she would go through hell and back to make the lives of Pawnee’s residents better. And the reason she can still smile through all the pain (imagine digging for those artefacts at night!) and hate is simply because she loves her job so much.
When you love what you do, it’s easy to overlook the sacrifices and hard work that goes into it. The love for the process and journey makes the end result worth it — that feeling of satisfaction and contentment is hard to describe, and hard to find.
As the great Steve Jobs said at Stanford’s Commencement address delivered in 2005:
“You’ve got to find what you love… Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
Ron is another person who truly loves what he does, and I’m referring to his woodworking business. Despite getting the attention of famous blogger Annabel Porter and the media coverage from a premiere lifestyle newsletter Bloosh, Ron firmly declines her offer to mass-produce his unique wooden chair design.
I may be inferring here, but I think it really goes to show how much passion Ron has for his woodworking. By flat-out refusing to commercialise his work, he’s protecting a hobby that is close to his heart, something that really lights his soul on fire, and keeping it as original and authentic as possible.
“Never half-ass two things. Whole-ass one thing.” — Ron Swanson
4. Half-glass full of lemonade
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade! Or in Andy’s case, just laugh it off. I think one of the greatest things we can learn from Andy, besides his perseverance, is his ability to view life in an optimistic way. He takes everything in his stride, and tries to maintain an upbeat and kind disposition even through the disappointments that life throws at him.
“There’s an old saying in show business: “The show must go wrong.” Everything always goes wrong, and you just have to deal with it.” — Andy Dwyer
Another character who really highlights this lesson is Chris. Even though he was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder and was supposed to live for three weeks, he did not let that fact pull him down, but rather utilised every opportunity he had to be grateful and happy he’s alive.
“How we deal with tragedy defines who we are. I used to be terrible at it. Beyond terrible. You are not going to let this deflate you. You are going to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and we will figure out what the next step is.” — Chris Traeger
5. Friends for life
What began as an awkward conversation between strangers Leslie and Ann sparked the beginnings of a strong friendship as the show progressed. Leslie and Ann complement each other so well, as they are opposites in terms of personality — Leslie is all “go go go” and high energy, whilst Ann is cool and calm.
Ann has supported and loved Leslie as a best friend through her ups and downs, and really came through for her through thick and thin. Be it as her campaign team member, or a backup date to the award ceremony, Ann has always been by Leslie’s side to provide emotional and mental support.
To find a true friend is rare, one that will stick by you and stand up for you. I believe this quote of Leslie’s really capture the essence and importance of friendship in our daily lives.
“We need to remember what’s important in life: friends, waffles, work. Or waffles, friends, work. Doesn’t matter, but work is third.” — Leslie Knope
Leslie is also blessed to be surrounded by a wonderful team of colleagues who are also her close friends, as they battled it out to get her elected as first woman Mayor of Pawnee, as well as shouldered her burdens and worries during the recall vote.
Friends play such an important role in our lives, being that shoulder to cry on or someone to just rant about things. They help to expand our social circle and prevent us from being isolated and lonely, giving us that much needed sense of belonging and purpose.
“No one achieves anything alone.” — Leslie Knope
6. Love yourself
I think this is one of the most important lessons of all — love yourself for who you are, and embrace you! Often, we tend to focus on our flaws and imperfections, and especially in this age of social media, we compare ourselves to other people who seem “better” than us.
We then think that we’re not enough — our lives, our bodies, our diet, you name it. I am guilty of such comparisons, and have fallen prey to the social media trap. But thankfully, over time, I grew to accept my imperfections as what makes me unique, and to not let other’s definitions box me in.
Donna and Tom are often seen celebrating and pampering themselves with gifts and little breaks, and I think it’s really important that we learn from them. I’m not saying that you have to splurge money or do anything dramatic, but a simple day off to just focus on giving yourself a breather can work wonders. That can be a mini spa day; buying yourself a new journal; treating yourself to a new plant, even!
Celebrate who you are, give yourself the grace to relax and be happy with what makes you, you!
Like our famous duo says, “Treat yo’self!”
I hope that these lessons resonate with you too, and that you can apply some of them to your daily lives. If any of you have other key lessons you’ve learnt, or simply want to share the love of Parks and Rec, please comment below! :)
