If you know a few things about Leslie Knope, who is played by Amy Poehler in Parks and Rec, you know she’s hilarious, and so is the entire series. Leslie comes off as a headstrong woman who takes her job in the parks department of the town council a little too seriously; which adds humor to the show. Even though it may be seen as just a series to make people laugh, which is what is was created for, there are underlying Leslie Knope life lessons.
1. If you know you’re right, don’t let your guard down. Leslie always knows when she’s right and she lets people know it. Even if it’s giving her best friend, Ann Perkins, advice on her many relationships, which most of the time Ann won’t agree, Leslie never lets her forget the truth. Most of the time Ann ends up telling Leslie she was right all along. Even if it’s hard to be honest, it will go a long ways. It will maybe even land you a best friend like Leslie.
2. Always have your friends and coworkers backs. Even though Ron Swanson is seen as the grump of the Parks and Rec clan, Leslie still made it a point to find out his birthday (because he never wants anybody knowing) and make it a point to celebrate for Ron. Even if a friend seems to let it go, you never know how much doing something a little extra could mean.
3. If you set your mind to something, you can get it done. Leslie always took pride in her position in the parks department and loved being apart of the government, so much so that she wanted to be a member of the city council. Even though her and her team of fellow parks department employees failed several times in the attempt to get Leslie on the city council, such as crashing her competition’s father’s funeral and campaigning, they never gave up. After doing a recount of the votes, Leslie ended up winning the election because of the heart her and her team put into everything leading up to that moment.
4. A little goes a long ways. Leslie and her long time boyfriend Ben Wyatt couldn’t wait to get married after they pulled off a successful harvest festival for the town of Pawnee during the third season. They were so happy about their success of the festival and wanted to get married right away. The rest of the parks department set off on their way to pull off making a wedding dress, finding wedding rings, and gathering their loved ones to have the wedding that night at the harvest festival. Even though the wedding didn’t entail a huge and elaborate planned ceremony, the true meaning was still there. The little things her friends and coworkers did made all the difference for their unexpected wedding.
5. Give back. Even though the city of Pawnee, Indiana is seen as the underdogs compared to Eagleton, Leslie stills makes 100 percent effort to be proud of Pawnee and give back to the community she’s from. No matter where you end up, never forget to give back.
6. If you find love don’t let it go. When Leslie and Ben first knew they liked one another but knew that working in the same office might not be okay amongst their coworkers, they still fought it to the best of their ability. When they ended up winning the court case of why they should be allowed together under appropriate work circumstances, they were thrilled and so were the rest of the town council employees.
P.S.- If you’re looking for something to binge watch on Netflix, Parks and Recreation is undoubtedly the series to choose.