Complete the Sentence: Never Have I Ever ______

There’s something about seeing your story on your screen for the first time that’s an experience like no other. 

It’s the feeling of being seen for the first time. 

The validation that you — yes you — are not alone. 

And the feeling that someone else had been in the same shoes as you. 

It’s not always about visual racial/cultural diversity. 

But it is about the experiences that relate to your identity. 

It could be the Mom who also started her small business in a one-bedroom apartment just like yours. 

Or the body-positive blogger with the same body-type as you who started sharing their journey and found their spark in the process. 

Or even the entrepreneur that you absolutely relate to, who left their 9-5 and simply hit go on their business the same way you want to. 

Kaling’s new show, “Never Have I Ever,” comes out next Monday. It’s the story of a third culture south asian kid navigating highschool, inspired by Mindy’s own childhood. As the tagline goes, they’re “High-key nerds, low-key virgins,” and I couldn’t be more excited. 

But it won’t just be about the show (as exciting as it is) but also about the lead actor Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, the Tamil-Canadian who grew up in Mississauga (just like me), who’s going to represent the childhood that I never saw, anywhere. 

Because never have I ever seen a Tamil girl on a mainstream Netflix show. 

And never have I ever seen a display of third culture that felt like my own experience. 

And never have I ever seen all of that from a girl that’s from not only my mother country, but also the city that I was raised in.  

But in 50 years? When I have 2 generations below me and I’m sitting at my big family Easter dinner in the spring of 2070??? I don’t want to still be sharing a round of “never have I evers” — because I want to know that we’ve spent the better parts of our lives breaking out of comfort zones and sharing the stories that we have in us. 

Because we need more stories. 

But we also need the courage to write them. 

The bravery to film them. 

And the heart to share them. 

There are going to be firsts happening for the next decade. And they’re going to be our firsts for the taking.  

I talk about sharing stories a lot. 

And it’s not just about the fact that they make up the way we communicate, the way we de-stress, the way we build relationships, or honour old ones. 

It’s because when you share your story, you have the power to change the lives of the people around you. 

And you — yes you — have the power to inspire your community into believing that they too, can. That their dreams have the space to exist because you represent a place in the universe where it’s possible. 

And isn’t that powerful? 

So thanks Mindy. 

For showing me that I could. 

And thank you. 

For letting me share my story.

And for being brave enough to try the same. 

P.S. Do you have a person like Mindy for you? Hit reply and let me know — I’d love to hear your version of this story.