coffee date #63 with mridula kovuri
Marketing & Operations Associate @ Prudential, RU alum, reality TV lover, a die-hard Swiftie, dog mom, 1/3rd of the east coast trio (s/o coffee date #32), miss world traveler
me: pizza and pasta | mridula: pizza and pasta
location: woodstack, metuchen
Back in 2019, I spent approximately 48 hours with Mridula, during which lots happened: a breakup, my first visit to a bar (called Hoppipola, yes the one we went to with coffee dates #32 and #60), too much alcohol, a night on the toilet, a nighttime horror tour of Mridula’s neighborhood.
Mridula has the most contagious laugh. She’s great at listening and giving advice. She knows how to party hard. She also makes everyone feel so included. I remember going to her 21st birthday party in NYC and I knew no one other than her. She somehow made me feel so welcomed and I left that night having met really cool, wholesome friends of hers 🥹 What I love most about her, though, is how real and authentic she is. She’s got a strong moral compass and is a true “girl’s girl.”
Mridula is one of those rare few who you can: 1) have a lot of fun with AND 2) have massive trauma dumping sessions with. What better way to have a trauma dump than to have a coffee date?
Epiphanies
- putting yourself first & trusting your intuition
I’ve known Mridula from her Chirec school days to Rutgers college days to now a full-blown working woman. She’s always had the most incredible work ethic and confidence. She trusts her skills and goes after the things she wants with the utmost dedication.
And trusting yourself is big! She told me how she was in a program that would last an x amount of time. In between, she landed her job at Prudential. She debated between thugging out the rest of her program or leaving the program early to start her job. If she thugged it out, the job may not be there anymore. If she left early, well she just didn’t know if she could.
“You have to put yourself first in your professional life, especially, because you’re replaceable in the market.” – Mridula Kovuri, 2026
But she trusted her gut and left the program early to start her job and boy, did she make the right decision. Nearly a week or two after she began her job, the job market went to shit. She now loves her job, has a beautiful work-life balance, and made a decision that she does not regret at all.
- how to make decisions without spiraling
As two overthinkers, our brains are always on 10x speed. But I loved how Mridula spoke about her thoughts and decision making.
She explained that when she makes a decision, she wants it to be her own. She will listen to everyone’s perspective, but at the end of the day, she will have a final say in her life decisions. Sometimes it’s just easier for someone else to make a decision for you, right? But Mridula noted that if things don’t go according to plan, she doesn’t want to blame others.
“Over thinkers are always the most prepared because they can handle any situation.” – Mridula Kovuri, 2026
She explained how overthinking can actually be used to our advantage. Over-thinkers have thought of every outcome, so Mridula basically just maps out every possible scenario, including worst-case scenarios. Once she has the whole map, she forms a decision. Now here’s the best part: once she makes a decision, one that she fully trusts, she closes off that chapter and does not look back.
I think that’s the part that I struggle with the most. Once I make a decision, I still teeter back and forth and that confuses my brain and I’m never fully satisfied. But Mridula showed me the importance of planning it all out and trusting that you did make the right decision. After that, you’re done. There’s nothing you can change anyway, so just lock it up and tuck it away.
- friendssssss!
One of the things that I admire the most about Mridula is the way she cultivates and develops friendships. She’s had the same core friends for practically over a decade. She created more solid friendships in college. I mean even we’ve known each other for nearly a decade now.
It’s one thing to keep friends, but it’s another thing to actually feed into those friendships and truly value them.
I loved the way she spoke about the impact of her friendships. She explained that her friends have truly made her into a better person; they’ve introduced new perspectives, opinions, and life experiences that have expanded her worldview and understanding. And this got me thinking about my friends. They’re such cool people, who’ve helped me through numerous existential crises, relationships, major life decisions, and more. I’ve almost taken them for granted? Not having realized how much they really have expanded my tiny, little heart to create room for lots more love.
I especially connected with the part where Mridula said that her friendships have also impacted her romantic relationships. Because she’s learned so much about love, connection, safety, and being understood within her friendships, she has learned to expect and give that in her romantic relationships as well.
Friends really do change lives. They’re our found families❣️
Esha Kode 