Everything I Need to Know, I Learned From Mindy Kaling

Well guess who has a birthday today? That’s right, the always evolving, absolutely hilarious, incredibly accessible, gorgeous-beyond-belief, lady-of-my-dreams Mindy Kaling.
EINTKILF Mindy Kaling

1. Overlooked kids have got it good.

Kaling has an awesome quote about how being cool in high school is actually not that cool in real life, which we all know is terribly accurate.

“Teenage girls, please don’t worry about being super popular in high school, or being the best actress in high school, or the best athlete. Not only do people not care about any of that the second you graduate, but when you get older, if you reference your successes in high school too much, it actually makes you look kind of pitiful, like some babbling old Tennessee Williams character with nothing else going on in her current life.”

And she even references Tennesse Williams, which is awesome — but also how true is this? I was not not cool in high school, but I was certainly not trying to be all that. I liked everyone, and I think everyone liked me, but I also like…worked in high school and hung out with people from other schools, so it wasn’t my life. And I was happy, and it was great.

2. Fake it till you make it.

I always tell people that blush and lipstick are cure-alls for a bad day. No one can seem like they are having that bad of a day/month/life/year if they are dolled up with some blush and red lipstick, I promise.

Kaling’s motto?

“Sometimes you just have to put on lip gloss and pretend to be psyched.”

Amen, sistah.

3. True love is…

“True love is singing karaoke ‘Under Pressure’ and letting the other person sing the Freddie Mercury part.”

Or, if you are me and not Kaling, true love is letting me sing the Marvin Gaye part of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” because I am so much better at it than the Tammi Terrell part.

And honestly, I kind of think singing karaoke together is true love in the first place, but I just LOVE KARAOKE SO MUCH.

4. Be confident in your thoughts (and everything). 

“I love women who don’t ask ‘is that okay?’ after everything they say.”

Just like how I always tell women to stop saying “I’m sorry” for everything! Ugh, don’t apologize unless you are legitimately in an argument and you legitimately are sorry for something. Don’t say sorry because someone bumps into you in the street or pushes past you to get on the bus. Also, like Kaling points out, don’t ask “is that okay?” all the time. Yes, it’s okay. You said it, and it is okay.

5. Fighting is healthy.

“I love that Much Ado About Nothing, passionate, smart fighting. I love fighting with guys, and that’s something that I don’t get to see: arguing at a high level with a member of the opposite sex.”

Kaling made this comment about her show The Mindy Project, also adding that there wasn’t much of that dynamic on The Office. I also love that dynamic, on television and in real life. I, unsurprisingly to everyone, totally fight with guys. And girls. And basically anyone because when you are an impassioned, feisty, semi-intelligent (most days) young lady like myself, you fight for stuff. The important stuff, you know. Like Kanye West and race matters.

6. How to dress.

If you follow Kaling on instagram, you know how freakin’ adorable she dresses 100% of the time. Even when she’s in lounge clothes!

I love a lady that dresses up or down and still looks awesome. Know the trick?

7. LOVE YOUR BODY.

…yes, that needed all caps.

I am not about to go on and on and on about how Kaling is not some waif of a supermodel actress because that story has been told over and over again. I will, however, acknowledge that Kaling is a super beautiful human being who clearly loves herself. I can’t even say “loves herself” without it having negative connotation because women (and I guess men?) are not supposed to admit that they love themselves.

I am super against that. I am my biggest fan, and I think I am super pretty, and I think I am relatively funny most of the time, and I think carrying yourself with confidence and poise is vital to a happy life, and I think Kaling has mastered the art. Way to lead the way for the rest of us.

8. How to tweet.

I have followed Kaling on twitter for basically half of my life, or so it feels, and I am never not amused. Not only are her individual tweets hilarious, we also get the joy of her tweets to her staff (@JeremyBronson follows me on twitter, NBD) and her friends.

Little delights in 140 characters.

9. Always have an ambiguous male friend.

And speaking of Kaling’s friends, unless you have never been on the internet ever, you likely know about the “ARE THEY OR AREN’T THEY” relationship between Kaling and dear, wonderful, hilarious BJ Novak.

I mean, there is the whole “soup snake” thing, which is what they call each other, a throwback to their Office days. There is the back-and-forth twitter flirting/fighting.

And there are about one million adorable pictures of the two together.

But recently, Novak spoke about his relationship with Kaling, stating that they are pretty much like Eliot and ET, which I love because that is a confusing relationship to compare yourself with. However, I have had friends like this, and I always say there ain’t nothin’ wrong with a little “what the hell is going on with those two?” in your life.

Okay, I don’t always say that. In fact, I have never said that until now, but I mean it.

10. Pride.

Similar to my little shout out to her confidence, I have always loved Kaling for being so proud of who she is. Super girly, quite intelligent, really, really funny, Kaling never hesitates to put her life out there for everyone to relate to and/or envy. At the end of the day, Kaling knows exactly who she is, and she shares it with all of us. Be proud of who you are, love yourself, and don’t compromise for anyone.

Happy birthday to one of the best women out there!

Featured image via , Messina image via glamour.