Congratulations to the class of 2019. Your commencement was probably full of inspirational quotes, stories, esteemed speakers motivating you to succeed in the next phase of your life, and Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” on repeat. To cap it off, the internet turned Mindy Kaling’s iconic line from The Office into a meme-worthy celebration for this year’s grads.
“You guys, I’m like, really smart now,” said Kelly Kapoor, who was Kaling’s character on the show. Kaling shared several photos on her Instagram of grads who decorated their mortarboards with the timely quote. The quote is seen spelled in sparkly letters, in cute handwriting with puff paint, and some of the artwork features Kapoor’s wry smile. Someone even made a celebratory cake with the quote.
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“I see you 2019 graduates! Congrats on this major accomplishment!” wrote Kaling, who featured a lineup of all-women grads on her post.
The infamous line comes from season 7, episode 1 of The Office, called “Nepotism.” After completing a minority executive training program at Yale University, Kapoor brought her newfound brilliance back to Dunder Mifflin, where she uttered the now-classic line. “You guys, I’m like, really smart now, you don’t even know. You could ask me, "Kelly, what's the biggest company in the world?" And I'd be like, "blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah blah blah," giving you the exact right answer.”
The biting humor of The Office, exemplified by this play on business jargon and office power jockeying, has now been turned into a rallying cry for the next generation.