Two years ago I was watching Chelsea Lately and one of the guests was somebody by the name of Mindy Kaling. I have heard the name before, but didn’t think much of her until the interview began.
The first thing I noticed about Ms. Kaling is that she doesn’t fit into the normal Hollywood stereotype. In other words, she is not a size 00 and she doesn’t have bleach blonde hair. The next thing I noticed was the fact that this woman is hilarious. At the time, she was promoting her book Is Everybody Hanging Out Without Me (and other concerns)?; which coincidentally described my life at the time.
Like a flip of a switch, I suddenly became very interested in Kaling’s work, which at the time was just being a writer and actress for The Office. Like a true 21st century kid who wants to appreciate somebody’s work, I binge watched The Office on Netflix and read Kaling’s book (six times).
When it was announced Kaling was leaving The Office for her new show, which she not only created but also wrote and starred in, I couldn’t help but be extremely excited for not just her but me. Even though the premise of the show is nowhere close to my life (Kaling’s character is an OBGYN in New York City), there is something about the writing for the show that makes it so relatable. What I love about Kaling’s writing is that her characters have flaws and those flaws end up in comedic situations, nonetheless they have flaws.
I think it’s important for broadcast journalism majors to have someone in the industry that they admire and look up to. Obviously the point is not to be them, but look at them for a source of inspiration or influence. For me, Mindy Kaling acts as that source of inspiration.
So thank you Mindy Kaling, for being a great source of inspiration for me.