In my late twenties, when I moved to Los Angeles and all my friends seemed to spread out around the country, I would tell myself, Once I am on hiatus from the show, I will visit them and everything will be the same. But the hiatus would come and go, and a movie role or rewrite job would keep me in L.A. Until I realized: this long expanse of free time to rekindle friendships is not real. We will never come home to each other again and we will never again have each other's undivided attention. That version of our friendship is over forever.
Mindy Kaling reflects on her experiences in her late twenties after moving to Los Angeles, where she noticed that her friends had spread out across the country. She often reassured herself that when she had time off from work, she would visit them and they would reconnect as if nothing had changed. However, as time went on, work commitments prevented her from making those visits, leading her to confront a painful realization about the nature of her friendships.
Kaling understands that the carefree days of being together with her friends, where they could easily gather and share their undivided attention, have come to an end. She accepts that life has altered the dynamics of those relationships, making it impossible to recreate the past. This insight into the impermanence of friendship highlights a common struggle many face as they navigate adult life and the changes it brings.
