09 Dec Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?
I may be a little late to the game–let’s consider the fact that Mindy Kaling has her own television show on prime time right now–but, I am just getting around to enjoying “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?” Working in Area T, I get to see a lot of fiction come through that is centered around and toward teens.
Sometimes, though, I catch a book “on the outside” that might fit in just as well inside our little bubble. Kaling’s book is one of these. She starts out talking about her childhood–the peculiarities of being Indian in a predominantly
White part of Boston–and that is the backdrop. But, really, the whole book is about her feeling peculiar. It is a hysterical read for anyone–any girl, especially–who has ever felt a bit “on the outside,” while at the same time, having enough sense to know that being on the outside (assuming it is paired with a good sense of self, wit, and intelligence) is not necessarily the worst place to be.
Teenagers get fed a lot of “be yourself, and in the long run, it’ll be okay,” but, it’s nice to actually see this notion in action from someone who has lived it, and gone on to be a success. Granted, Ms. Kaling hasn’t always felt like the most popular person in the room, but ultimately, and most importantly to herself, it hasn’t mattered.
