This week’s Teen Mom was all about identity, especially for Farrah and Maci. A lot of teens aren’t totally sure who they are, but being a teen mom only adds to the confusion. Are you a student, a mother, a daughter, a teen, an adult? It’s hard to play all the roles, and really confusing when you’re expected to play them at the same time.

For Farrah, she hopes that moving away from her parents will give her the jump start she needs to start her own life. Since graduating from culinary school, she dreams of starting her own restaurant in a new city away from her parents. However, leaving Iowa would mean breaking the ties Sophia has built with her grandparents, and starting all over again with no one around to help. Leaving home as a teen to start a new life is hard enough, would you be able to do it if you had to provide for a baby too?

Farrah leaves Sophia at home and travels to California to look at some schools and apartments for her and Sophia. She is disappointed in her options there, but is still positive that she wants to move away. Farrah is eager to start her own life and prove her independence from her parents, but I’m not sure if she’s ready for that big of a step.

Maci, on the other hand, is in no rush to get away from her roots. She starts to debate quitting school so she can spend all of her time being a mother to Bentley. Maci loves being a mother so much that she’d rather take on that role alone, instead of being a student and young adult. In fact, she even tells Kyle that she wants another baby, soon! Can you imagine being 19 and having two children? Actually, one-fourth of teen moms have a second baby before their first is 2 years old. Why do you think that is? Do you think most teen moms plan to have another child right away, like Maci wants?

Both Kyle and Maci’s mothers inform her that she’s crazy for thinking she could have another baby right now. She needs to focus on her future, they say, not just what she craves in the moment. But I think I understand Maci’s desire to have another baby. Seeing Kyle with Bentley, especially when he takes such good care of him when he’s scared at daycare, is heartwarming. Maci wants to give Kyle a biological child of their own to love, but the timing isn’t right. If she and Kyle survive long term, there’s plenty of time to add to their family.

In all her baby fever, Maci’s friends remind her how much her pregnancy changed her and Ryan’s relationship. She never imagined he would abandon her or treat her and Bentley so poorly, but the pressure of being a father ruined their relationship. They warn her that the same could happen if she pressures Kyle to become a father, which is really good advice.  Did you know that 8 out of 10 teen dads don’t stay with the teen mother of their child? A baby is not the answer to making a relationship stronger. A baby won’t make him stay!

This episode gives you a lot to think about. What roles do we take on in our daily life? It’s hard enough being a teen and an adult, being dependent and independent of our parents. Being a mom complicates things way too much!

This post was written by Kate, an intern for The National Campaign. Kate is a senior at George Washington University, studying journalism and sociology. She loves theater and cooking, and eats mashed potatoes every single day. Have a question for Kate? Email us!