Two days ago, a legend died.

She was an exceptionally talented musician, a truly wise woman and a kind, generous soul. Her name was Dolly Parton…

I come from Ukraine, and in my country, country music has never been particularly popular. Dolly Parton would probably be known to most people as the songwriter and original performer of I Will Always Love You, although you’d probably have to mention Whitney Houston and her version of the song first.

Still, I’ve come to learn about Dolly Parton, and I’m so happy I did.

Even though I haven’t followed her or her work for years, I love the heartfelt storytelling and soulfulness of some of her best-known, most iconic songs. But what I love even more is her wisdom – how she navigated those rude interview questions without even raising an eyebrow. Whatever they asked her, she would simply come back with the truth.

She was comfortable in her own skin and inspired confidence in countless other people, including me.

Before yesterday, I knew a few famous quotes of hers that I simply couldn’t possibly forget after hearing them once. “Jokes about dumb blondes don’t offend me because I know I’m not stupid, and I also know I’m not blonde” is one of them.

This speaks right to my heart because, personally, I’m working on addressing a number of underlying beliefs I hold. I’ve come to realize that as long as you truly know something, it doesn’t matter what other people think or seem to know. You have faith in yourself and in your truth. It stands even if others don’t come around with their validation or acceptance of it.

Speaking of which, Dolly famously said, “I don’t care what others think of me if they don’t even care to find out who I really am.” What a gem of wisdom!

At this time in my life, I’m at a crossroads, emerging from a painful separation from an organization I used to be part of, feeling betrayed by people I trusted and thought the world of, but at the same time appreciating the whole experience because it taught me priceless lessons.

And Dolly’s words resonate with me so much now that I’m getting to revisit my old dreams and turn a listening ear and eager eye toward some new ones. “When there is no one to believe in you, you must believe in yourself.”Thank you, dear Dolly, for believing in all of us!

And thank you for your precious acts of kindness. For all the good deeds you did during your lifetime that were the object of public fascination and gratitude, as well as those spontaneous acts of kindness we are only learning about now.

I saw your letter to Eminem yesterday and couldn’t help but feel moved. As Eminem himself mentioned, you absolutely didn’t have to take the time to write a letter to someone you didn’t know, someone who existed in a completely different musical universe from yours.

You seemingly had nothing in common, and yet you felt a connection. You went on to write about it and simply say a few kind words to a fellow human being. What a wonderful act of humanity indeed! That will always stay with me and be my inspiration: a simple act of kindness goes a long way.

I also promise to keep learning who I am – on purpose.

Thank you for everything, dear Dolly Parton.

Rest in peace.