There are a few things I am not ashamed to admit, despite the fact that a majority of society (and my friends) judge me for them.

1. I drink more Diet Coke than should be legally allowed. For breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. Before bed. When I’m sick. All time time. Sometimes I wish I could carry around a slow-dripping IV bag of Diet Coke to keep me going. Yes, I know it has aspartame. Sure, it could give me cancer or make my future babies have 7 eyes, but alas, I continue on. And for those of you who are wondering, yes, I drink water. A lot of water. Also, I hate coffee. Gross. But inevitably, due to my large intake of Diet Coke and water, I am destined to use the public conveniences often. That’s the price I shall pay.
2. I read celebrity gossip. Whether it’s Kim Kardashian’s “marriage”, anything Kate Middleton, or what the Cruise kid is wearing this week, I love it. Yes, I keep up with politics. No, I do not think the Royals should overshadow major world crises. I am a 26-year-old female. I am distracted by train wrecks and eye candy. Sue me.
3. I was (am) a nerd when I was a kid. Like, a big nerd. I sucked my thumb till I was, oh, 12… played golf, did drama, enjoyed reading, wore a lot of hand-me-downs and clothes from K-Mart, and was relatively un-athletic. Thus, I was tormented through elementary school. It was not good. Thank God I grew out of that. Right? Right? Right.
4. I am a Cleveland Browns fan. A HUGE Cleveland Browns fan. I hate the Steelers. I detest the Ravens. I miss Bernie Kosar. I think Art Modell is a piece of poop. Brownie was the coolest mascot ever. And it baffles me that, for the last 11 years or so since we’ve come back, how the ownership doesn’t understand why we’ve had more consistency at our KICKER position than we have had at quarterback or coach or running back or o-line – and they wonder why we stink. (Yeah, that’s me as a baby with my dad outside Cleveland Browns stadium. I have that Kosar jersey. It’s legit. Fan fo’ LIFE!)

• Note: I also like the Indians and the Cavaliers, but those teams don’t get made fun of.

Why tell you all of this? This is not meant to be “Molly’s embarrassing attributes 101” – this is all to prove a point.

I have thick skin. And I stand by what I believe in.

Yet, I’m also incredibly sensitive about totally random things… but that’s a different post.

Life is tough. Everyone goes through stuff. I’m honestly getting rather weary of listening to people day in and day out complain about their lives, their jobs, Wall Street, the government, their competition, next door neighbor, yada yada yada. Our world is full of complainers. And I am totally guilty of complaining right along with them.

Except if there’s anything the last year has taught me, it’s that the more we work, the more we stand by our beliefs, the more we pander only to ourselves and not to others, and the more we do what makes us happy – the less we complain.

When it comes to business, it can be so easy to blame down revenue or poor marketing campaigns on a down economy. Or the new guy in town. Or big box retailers. Or this. Or that. Business will always go up and down. That’s business. Yet, the businesses that continue to be successful are the ones that aren’t afraid to try new things. Business that understand marketing and PR 101 (and crisis management 101 – cough cough Netflix). Business that take care of and actually give two rats rear ends about their customers. Businesses that stand by their foundations, no matter what.

It’s time to grow some thicker skin, complainers of the world. Seriously. It’s time to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps and git ‘er done. It’s time to quit doing what everyone else is doing and try something different. If it’s broken, FIX IT. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. So, why are most of us clearly insane?

Yeah, my Cleveland Browns are terrible. Yet, I know why. We draft positions we don’t need, we change coaches every year or two, and we can’t coach a quarterback well enough to stay longer than a couple season. Yet, Cleveland Browns fans are some of the most devoted fans. Ever. We keep coming back, season after season saying, “THIS IS OUR YEAR, BABY.” And then we lose 1902810928 to zip against a high school practice squad.

Tonight, I will go to Champps, wearing my flippin’ sweet Kosar jersey, eat cheese fries, drink unhealthy amounts of Diet Coke, and cheer so loudly I will embarrass my fiancé to the point that he will probably refuse to admit (for those three hours) that he is marrying me in 72 days. Tonight, we are playing the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ugh. Unless a miracle of God happens, we will lose. By a lot. But that’s okay. I have thick skin and I will stand by my team.

All of this rambling to say, when the going gets tough, thicken up that skin of yours, roll up your sleeves, and cheer on your business, your cause, or yourself till the very end.

What do you think? Am I totally nuts? Did any of this even make any sense to you? Who am I connecting with? Comment below.

Unless you’re a Steelers fan.

Because then your comments mean nothing to me.

Just kidding.

Sort of.