Quotes from Mindy Kaling

at that point I was missing my mother viscerally, painfully. When I was pregnant, I had enough time to visualize taking care of my daughter without a husband. That was easy. Most of my friends' husbands don't even change diapers. But not having a mom around to support me was torture. It felt especially cosmically mean that my mother had been an obstetrician and gynecologist and I'd had a tough delivery.

Sometimes you will meet idiots who are technically adults and authority figures. You don't have to do what they say. You can calmly say, 'Can I first call my mom and ask if I have to do this, please?

One of the unexpected and wonderfully fair things I have learned in my career is that if Hollywood were filled just with perfect-looking people, then soap operas would be the most-watched things in the world. But they're not. Looks are great, but they're not compelling enough. I've noticed that successful actors with long careers are usually talented actors with charismatic screen presences, and all of them exude one thing: confidence.

I didn't have my mom. But I did have Rose. Rose loved giving advice, and I loved listening to it.

All I wanted was for my mother to be there, helping me, telling me formula would not give my daughter dyslexia and/or male-pattern baldness.

I never think environmental hazards are going to kill me. I only think serial killers are.

If I can give one bit of advice to any drama major, high school theater kid, or inmate who is reading this in a prison library with dreams of being cast in the prison play, it's this: write your own part. It is the only way I've gotten anywhere. It is much harder work, but sometimes you have to take destiny into your own hands. It forces you to think about what your strengths really are, and once you find them, you can showcase them, and no one can stop you.

When they arrived, we all sat around my small apartment, ate delicious Indian food, and talked and talked for hours. I was surprised by how calming it was to be around people who looked like me and who reminded me of where I was from.

The fear of raising this baby myself, forever. All these fears were the worst I've ever had in my life, and Rose helped me keep them at bay. She was my mom when I needed a mom, and that wasn't even her job.

We text, and one time she asked if I would ever need her again. I told her I don't know if I'll have another baby, but if it meant she would come and live with me, I may just go ahead and do it.

That was the moment when I realized how cool my life is. I was trying to hit on a guy and was being interrupted by the president of the United States.

Because I think that it finally dawned on me that I have a child who will never know her grandmother, the person who was the closest to me in the world. And I was about to start this journey with my daughter by myself without the help of my mother. I was going to raise her alone, and I was terrified.

But my secret is: even though I wish I could be thin, and that I could have the ease of lifestyle that I associate with being thin, I don't wish for it with all of my heart. Because my heart is reserved for way more important things.

Hard work is such a weird thing. As children and teenagers you are told it's a really good thing, but for adults it suddenly becomes the worst thing in the world.

In that moment, standing alone in my bedroom, I felt so connected to my mother. It was finally clear. The reason I'm Kind of Hindu and will raise my daughter to be Kind of Hindu is to have this connection deep inside my own heart to other people who look like us and have shared key experiences, thousands of miles away.

And the scary thing I have noticed is that some people really feel uncomfortable around women who don't hate themselves. So that's why you need to be a little bit brave.

I doubt I'll ever be knowledgeable enough to satisfy her or my curiosity about our faith, but I'm really going to try. As long as Kit and I are Kind of Hindu, we will never be alone.

The terrorists scramble. Who is this invisible antiterrorist? It's me, Mindy Kaling. I was hiding behind Cee Lo's fur coat,

Throwing a tantrum feels good because you think you are ruining everyone's good time when you feel your very worst. But the truth is, you're not ruining their good time, you're just giving them another good story. I

Again, I was forced to say thank you. How I continually found myself in situations where I felt I had to say thank you to mean guys, I'm not sure.

almost no one who was a big star in high school is also big star later in life. For us overlooked kids, it's so wonderfully fair. I

Work hard, know your shit, show your shit, and then feel entitled. Listen to no one except the two smartest and kindest adults you know, and that doesn't always mean your parents. If you do that, you will be fine. Now, excuse me, I need to lie down and watch Sheldon.

Sometimes You Just Have to Put on Lip Gloss and Pretend to Be Psyched

Don't be closer to twice a friend's weight than to her actual weight," I told myself.