Parks and Recreation Series: Getting Out of the Pit

TV Inspiration is a Summer blogging series that the Annes came up with to help spread inspiring content based on two popular TV series. Holli Anne's series is Parks and Recreation. Her Intro post can be found here. Tyler Anne's series is Lost. Her Intro post can be found here and first post can be found here.
This post is Holli Anne's Tv Inspiration. 

Season 1 is definitely not the best when it comes to Parks and Recreation, but honestly, what show's first season is its prime?

I will say, though, that going back and watching Season 1 after having seen them all is pretty fun. They're so young!

If you decide to give the show a chance, just plug your way through Season 1's six episode run because man, oh, man, the show gets so funny!

While it's not comedic gold, per se, this season obviously introduces most of the show's base characters, not least among them by any means: Leslie Knope.

As I was rewatching this season, letting it inspire me, there was one strong element that stood out to me time and time again: Knope's sheer determination. 

Sure, one of the things that makes Leslie such a strong character throughout the whole show is her ability to follow through on what she sets out to do in relentless fashion. But going back and watching Leslie work to turn the infamous pit into a park scenario is a beautiful display of blind determination.

From the Pilot episode, in fact, comes this scene that really does paint a big picture for just what Leslie will be trying to do in the whole show: follow her passions, work for change, stop at nothing. 

This scene is between the city planner Mark Brendanawicz and Leslie, talking about building a park. 

Mark: "When I think about the logistics, the various hoops you're gonna have to jump through, I would say…is it likely? Nah, it's not likely. But, is it possible? No, it's not possible. I would give up on that."

Leslie: "Why?"

Mark: "There's like a million reasons why: homeowners associations, anti-government nuts, bureaucrats, miles of red tape."

Leslie: "It sounds like your telling me to go for it!" 

Parks and Recreation fan or not, there is definitely advice here for any of us with a desire to accomplish something to heed. 

For me, I've been really struggling with carving out time in the day to write my book. It's one of my monthly resolutions to wake up in the morning and write before I start my day. Spoiler for half way through the month: I'm failing. 

I know Leslie Knope's a fictional character, but that doesn't mean her willingness to put so much energy into the things she's passionate about doesn't inspire me. I compare that to the way I so easily put off my daily writing if I'm tired, busy, or distracted…and well, I'm put to shame in a second. 

As I was mulling over all this today, I came across a post on making a living pursuing your passion by one of my favorite inspirational bloggers Jeff Goins. 

The gist of it? You have to be faithful, show up to your time to (write for me but could be whatever), and you have to let your success be defined in your own completion. (I left a lot out, so read the post if the topic interests you).

I'm using this post part as a way to tell you how awesome Leslie Knope is and how it would definitely behoove you all to follow your desires with the insanity she does, but also, and selfishly, to kick myself in the butt for not being even half as driven as she is. So, for any of you out there, who may have fallen in the pit, it's time to rent a bulldozer, fill that bad boy up, and build that darn park already!

—Holli Anne

TV Inspiration: Holli's Summer Series

Summer is all about treating yourself, right? That's why I thought that Parks and Recreation would be the perfect choice for me for our summer TV series. TREAT YO' SELF! 

If you didn't catch Tyler's first post about our summer TV series (where she announced she'll be doing Lost), check it out here. The short version is that each of us are choosing one show and pulling writing inspiration, DIY ideas, advice and just a lot of fun from the show. 

What does this mean for my series?

Well, if you are a fan of the show, you can imagine some grilling Ron Swanson style, some waffles and inspiration Leslie Knope's way and maybe even some healthier things to ease Chris Trager's mind! 

Even if you aren't a fan, the DIYs, recipes and who knows what else will still be cool things you can enjoy. You just might not laugh as hard as we Parks fans will!

Why did I choose Parks and Recreation?

Parks and Rec is a lot different than Lost, huh? (I actually have only seen the LAST episode of Lost. Oops!) I guess I just wanted to go with something that is particularly inspirational to me…and funny. I love me some TV comedies and laughing, and well, summer just seems like a good time to do that!

Hands down, it's one of my favorite shows. It's actually a contender for "favorite show of all time," but I don't choose those until the whole series airs. (The other contender is Arrested Development). Probably one of the other things I love about it is that people ALL the time tell me I'm Leslie Knope.

I'm just generally pumped about life, energized, passionate about change and maybe a little fond of breakfast food. Oh, and Joe Biden (not a political statement). 

It's not just vanity, though. Leslie Knope as a character is an awesome role model, and all the characters are just too cool for school. Plus, I already have tons of ideas to treat myself (and hopefully yo' self, too!) 

The way this works is simple: I'll just watch a few of these episodes (starting at season 1) a week and blog about something inspired. If you wanna follow along and catch some of the jokes, then Netflix with me! Or, if you're already a fan, then prepare to flash back to the beginning. 

Next week we'll both do our first posts. 

TV Inspiration: Tyler's Summer Series

There are only three types of people in this world: those who loved the ending of Lost, those who hated it, and those who have never seen the show at all. Let me go ahead say that I'm one of those people who loved the ending and, more importantly, the road that got me there.

Over here at Almost There we have decided to do a Summer blog series that focuses on TV Inspiration. 

We are picking one show each and pulling writing inspiration, DIY ideas, advice, and just a lot of fun from each show.

What does that mean? 

I will re-watch Lost every day and once a week will make a post about the episodes I just watched. Don't worry, it won't be a play by play or anything. Each post I do will either have a Lost-inspired DIY, a fun bit of advice, or a writer/reader/viewer look at the show. Not to mention fun beachy things because, well, I live at the beach!

Why am I doing Lost?

Well, because it's one of my favorite shows. I was lucky enough to be hipster during college and thought it was "uncool" to watch something so popular. So when everyone had to wait until the next week to find out what the junk happened, I wasn't subjected to that torture. After graduation, I randomly watched the first episode on Netflix. I became hooked and watched all seasons in less than a month. (Using #addicted was and is appropriate here.)

If you want to play along and talk about the show/have a better understanding of the humor I'll try to employ in each post, Lost is a great show because all episodes are on Netflix.

Easy enough, no?

Next week will be the first blog post in my TV Inspiration: Lost series! I hope you'll join me! 

Holli Anne will be announcing her Summer Series this week also!

-Tyler Anne (aka Chick Tyler)