We All Need A Bit More Dolly Parton In Our Lives

When I was a kid, #DollyParton was someone who was largely a caricature. At least, that's how I remember her in my childhood memories, but then, that could be in part because I felt so much like one myself - gangly and awkward with a mouthful of braces and, of course, acne. Then, there was Dolly, who was of course in her late-30s or early-40s and looking like she could pass for late-20s. Petite, gorgeous, and talented - basically, everything I felt I wasn't at the time - but she made an indelible impression on me even then.

You don't forget people like Dolly Parton, even when you've never met them. I've always been struck by how genuinely kind she seemed in everything she did, and loved her humor. As I grew into adulthood, Dolly has become less of a caricature and more a fully fleshed out person now. While I enjoyed 9 to 5 with #LilyTomlin and #JaneFonda, I thought Dolly was absolutely perfect in #SteelMagnolias. Her character was equal parts sass and heartwarming good nature, and even though the film was sad in many ways, she was a standout for me and continues to be one of the reasons why I love that movie even now.

Flash forward to 2020. Both Dolly Parton and I are older and presumably wiser, and I am still astounded by the woman's sheer goodness and energy. Southern Living did a piece about what we could all learn from Dolly Parton in the wake of what has been one of the roughest years on record for so many of us, and in reading it, I realize that in reality, Dolly might very well be what the world continues to need so much of nowadays.

Firstly, she spreads joy. While you might not be the biggest fan of her music, there is something that is incredibly delightful about this petite dynamo. She smiles - a lot - and radiates joy whenever she's on camera. Admittedly, I don't know her personally, but it's fairly commonly known that she is simply a joyous person. She seems to have fun in whatever she's doing, whether it's plugging her new collaboration with #WilliamsSonoma or performing with Pentatonix and her beloved goddaughter #MileyCyrus.

She also gives back, handily. At an age where many individuals would consider laying back and enjoying a quieter lifestyle, Dolly continues to be hard at work, whether it's donating personal protective equipment to front line workers, helping fund a COVID-19 vaccine (she helped fund the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, according to several news sources including CNN) and she has a YouTube channel called Good Night With Dolly where she reads bedtime stories to children. Her Imagination Library has also donated over 100 million books to children since its inception in 1995. She has also put her entire music collection on streaming services for everyone to enjoy.

I know times are very tough right now, and we are all feeling different variations of stress related to COVID-19. I do believe, however, that maybe Dolly's got the right idea. Perhaps we do need to try and control what we can and instead of being gripped by fear, which is easy enough to do in this situation, we can look at what we can do to bring moments of joy to our lives and to those of others in whatever way we can. Maybe we need to try and help give back, if it's safe or even possible to do so, not just to help others but maybe to reawaken in ourselves a spirit of humanity that might well have been forgotten in the last several months since COVID-19 entered our lives.

Maybe that's what Dolly Parton and so many others like her have understood throughout 2020. Maybe we need to reach out to each other, harder than we've done before, in this pandemic in order to not just survive, but thrive.