Mindy Kaling Talks About Self Confidence, Dating, And Motherhood In Her Dartmouth Commencement Speech

On Sunday, Mindy Kaling delivered a delightfully candid commencement speech to Dartmouth College graduates.

Kaling graduated from Dartmouth in 2001 with a degree in playwriting and revisited her alma mater as a highly successful actress, comedian, and writer. The actress is best known for her roles in The Office, The Mindy Project, and the star-studded movie, Ocean’s 8. In the Dartmouth Commencement speech, Mindy gets real about dating, self-confidence, and motherhood.

Kaling starts by sharing her superpower with the happy graduates and their families. She claims that this superpower that has allowed her to shine with self-confidence is a delusion, which she says is something that can get you extremely far in life. Mindy finalizes this point by stating that, “You have to have insane confidence in yourself, even if it’s not real.” After this statement, Kaling moves on to offer some candid dating advice to the men in the audience.

She tells the men to “Act as if every woman your talking to is a reporter for an online publication that you are scared of”, and adds that “One shouldn’t need the threat of the public exposure and scorn to treat women well; but if that’s what it’s gonna take, fine”. The next topic Mindy divulges into is motherhood.

She speaks of the birth to her daughter Katherine this past December and the feelings of isolation she had once Katherine had been brought home. Although Kaling had the full support of her friends and family, she couldn’t help but be somewhat scared and thought “Can I do this by myself?” However, Mindy says that the overwhelming joy she gets from spending time with her daughter is the only thing she truly needs in life.

Be sure to check out this amazingly real and hilarious actress in Ocean’s 8.