Some of you may remember Mindy Kaling from her earlier days on the hit NBC show, "The Office". She played Kelly Kapoor, a customer service rep who spent her days gossiping and fawning over Ryan, the temp.
Since then, she has grown into a comedy icon and role model to young girls and women around the world. With her TV show The Mindy Project, and her successful book "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)", Mindy is here to stay.
I religiously watch her show, follow her on Instagram, and have read her book too many times to count. Here are the reasons why Mindy Kaling is every college girl's role model
1. She is Open About Her Past
Many people are embarrassed by their childhood photos and those awkward teenage years, but Mindy Kaling embraces it. Her book proudly flaunts her childhood bowl cut, her photo shoots with her brother, and reenacting SNL reruns after school with her friends.
She is not shy about being nerdy and spending a lot of weekend nights in high school at home reading and studying. Instead, she writes "I just want ambitious teenagers to know it is totally fine to be quiet, observant kids. Besides being a delight to your parents, you will find you have plenty of time later to catch up."
2. She Has a Positive Body Image
In a country that puts so much emphasis on being model thin, Mindy is not ashamed to admit that she is a healthy size 8. Like any celebrity, she has faced ridicule for her shape and size, but she always has a witty response to put critics in their place.
Perhaps her best is telling Vogue magazine: "I don’t want to be skinny. I’m constantly in a state of self-improvement but I don’t beat myself up over it". This kind of positive body image is hard to come by in Hollywood and it certainly something worth praising.
3. She Says What We Are All ThinkingThis summer, she gave Harvard Law School's commencement address. An Ivy League alumni herself, Mindy summed up the graduating class in just four short words: "you are all nerds."
But that is just the beginning. From nature ("There is no sunrise so beautiful that it is worth waking up for me to see") to parties ("If I'm at a party where I'm not enjoying myself, I will put some cookies in my jacket pocket and leave without saying good-bye"), she says what you think but are afraid to admit.
Even as Dr.Mindy Lahiri on "The Mindy Project", she is always saying what she is thinking. From pop culture to her love life, nothing is off limits.
4. She Dresses to Impress
From her small screen characters to her real life style, Mindy dresses to impress. As Kelly Kapoor, she played a Pennsylvania office worker with a passion for fashion, and now as Mindy Lahiri, she mixes colors and patterns of workplace separates like blazers and pencil skirts flawlessly.
In the real world, she also favors bright colors and quirky trendy pieces from designers like Trina Turk that set her apart and match her bright personality.
5. She is a Quadruple Threat
As an actor, writer, producer, and director; Mindy certainly has worked her way to the top. She came from humble beginnings with her small play "Matt and Ben" which she co-wrote and starred in, and now she has expanded to not only writing the types of characters that she can play perfectly, but also directing and producing her own show that is loosely based off of her personality.
With 'The Mindy Project' entering its third season, it's clear how well rounded she is as a comedian and as a businesswoman. Be sure to set your DVR for "The Mindy Project" when season three premieres on September 16 of FOX and pick up her book, "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?" for more insight and hilarity.
