11 Ways I Relate to Molly from “Mike and Molly.”
I pulled a recent Mike and Molly marathon and watched several episodes in my attempt to catch up with this season’s show. When I watched an episode titled “The First and Last Ride-A-Long” (Season 4, Episode 2), I laughed in that side-splitting, gut-wrenching, muscle-hurting way that produces tears and calls for a box of tissues. Afterwards, I made my husband join me and watched it a second time. Together, we enjoyed another round of deep chuckles, while exchanging knowing glances with each other. We both agreed that Molly and I have a few things in common.
Here are the top eleven ways I relate to Molly, played by Melissa McCarthy, in the show Mike and Molly.
1. Molly is a full-figured woman who is bold enough to follow her dreams. Enough said.
2. Molly worked as a teacher for ten years and dramatically escaped her job by fleeing out her classroom window during the middle of teaching a class. No longer able to tolerate her mediocre life, she literally plunged into a new dream, one which would involve writing as a career. Although I did not crawl out a classroom window, it was during my two years of homeschooling that I realized I wanted to fulfill my desire to write a novel. Unable to both teach and write with maximum efficiency, my husband and I made the decision to put our children back into school.
3. Molly defines her genre as being contemporary crime fiction. Mine is futuristic crime fiction. Bring on the FBI and CIA! We have a mystery to solve.
4. Molly has plans for a sequel. I have plans for three. Lofty goals! I like that.
5. The concept of research leaves Molly giddy and squirming with excitement. I relate to that! Research is fun when its done to progress a story. It’s like wrapping up a secretive gift and giving it to others to slowly unwrap and savor.
6. My favorite quote of the show. Molly: “Dang it, I thought I was recording. What did I say? Hey, did you guys catch what I said?” My husband snorted when he heard Molly’s character say this. Apparently I say that a lot.
7. Mike is supportive of Molly’s work. I also have an awesome husband who believes in me and reads my chapters diligently. Go Bruce!
8. Molly finds story ideas all around her and is in a constant state of documenting/recording her thoughts. I have several journals full of plot ideas and thoughts, and computer files filled with future book ideas. I NEED to get a recording device or an app on my phone to record my thoughts.
9. It’s true that we work through our issues while we write. This makes our stories deep psychological pools of information, which only we can interpret. I loved watching Molly play this out as she wrote a story which closely reflected her repressed, and sometimes not so repressed feelings towards Mike’s mother.
10. After Mike was asleep, Molly snuck out of bed to jot down a few more thoughts. I do this ALL the time. There is no better time to write than at night, when the house is silent and there are no distractions.
11. Adversity. Molly experienced adversity in the form of her extended family. She did not let their negativity weigh her down. I believe that there will always be haters and nay-sayers in this world. My philosophy is this, you will always lose if you never try. So why not try? I’d rather fail having tried, than not try at all. Instead of asking yourself, “what-if I don’t succeed?” why not ask yourself, “what-if I do?”
If you would like to watch this episode in its entirety, click on the picture below:
Enjoy!
JANNA VANDERVEEN 