A friend once asked me which celebrities I’d pick to be my cabin crew on a wild night out like Rough Night. I was surprised that it took me so long to come up with the answer, but to be honest, the perfect vina date would definitely involve some food, laughs, gossip, petting puppies, and maybe even mild feigning of exercise. And that’s when it occurred to me that everything I’d want in a BFF already exists in the form of Mindy Kaling.
You may know Kaling from The Office, where she played the office gossip, Kelly Kapoor. Or maybe you know her as obstetrician Mindy Lahiri on her very own show The Mindy Project. This badass has also penned two highly devourable books: Is Everybody Hanging Out Without Me? and Why Not Me?
P.S. both books make for amazing book club reads if you can wrangle some vinas around a fire pit on a summer night.
What I love most about Mindy is her openness about how hard she has worked to get to this point in her life. In her Why Not Me? she recounts her daily schedule and it is insane. She’s literally up before 5 A.M. every morning and her head doesn’t touch her pillow again until midnight. We all like a vina who knows how to hustle!
Another thing I love is her concept on life. In her own words, “entitlement in and of itself isn’t so bad. Entitlement is simply the belief that you deserve something. Which is great. The hard part is, you’d better make sure you deserve it.”
She’s also very upfront about her adorably nerdy childhood and the fact that she was always the unrebellious, perfectly polite pupil. Mindy attended Dartmouth College, became a nanny after graduation and eventually made her way into comedy after teaming up with a friend to create a two-woman show about Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.
At 24, she was hired as the only female writer on The Office and quickly won hearts onscreen by portraying Kelly Kapoor. She’s real life besties with B.J. Novack (Ryan on The Office), loathes juice cleanses and totally seems like the kind of vina who would cheer you on as you key your ex’s car, then she would promptly reward you with a trip to a Sprinkles ATM.
There’s a lot to love about Mindy Kaling. She’s hilarious, kind, supportive and driven. But I think the coolest thing about her is what a trailblazer she is. She’s one of very few female show runners in the entertainment industry. On top of that, she directs, writes and acts while simultaneously manning a very hilarious Twitter handle and hanging out on the New York Times best seller list. If Mindy was in Mean Girls, she’d be Glenn Coco for sure.
She has the most pleasantly amusing thoughts and insights, like which famous rom-com couples would still be together.
And of course, I couldn’t sign off without sharing some of my favorite quotes on friendship from Queen Mindy.
“The great thing about true best friends is that when you go MIA for a few months, they inquire but they don’t press. Best friends know the power of infatuation but also how quickly it dissipates. You just have to wait it out. And then afterward, tease them about it for decades.”
“One friend with whom you have a lot in common is better than three with whom you struggle to find things to talk about.”
Tell us what you love about Kaling in the comments below. And download the Hey! VINA app to meet other bookworms, Netflix addicts, and hardworking vinas near you.
(Feature image via Boston Magazine)
VINAZINE 