I may not be a parent myself, but I do know that motherhood can be an extremely difficult (yet entirely rewarding) job. All the time and responsibility that goes into it is unlike any other experience in the world, and yet the full extent of such a demanding job is sometimes hard to comprehend without witnessing it firsthand. But that's something that Monday night's episode of Jane the Virgin was looking to correct by opening up an important discussion about motherhood. You see, it all started when Jane got accepted into graduate school on Jane the Virgin , which she'd been hoping to hear back from. However, due to all of the prerequisites that come with this particular writing program, she would have to take a summer class right away and separate from Mateo much earlier than expected.
Naturally, this posed quite the dilemma for poor Jane and symbolized the type of juggling act many mothers themselves face in real life. Do you pursue your career aspirations and miss out on special moments with your baby, or do you put your goals on hold and be a full-time mom? It feels like an impossible decision, but a struggle that Jane the Virgin approached in the most perfect way possible. At first, Jane tried to do both by bringing Mateo to the summer class with her. And while the school agreed to give it a try, the plan ended up failing miserably because this is life and it's impossible to control the whims of a newborn baby.
However, things really started to come together after Jane confessed her stressful situation to her fellow group of mothers. Some of the women couldn't even fathom leaving their child so soon, while others completely understood he desire to get back to work. But it was the instructor woman who really hit the nail on the head. She insisted that every new mother's viewpoint is unique and equally valid. What's most important, though, is to honor whatever choice that is right for you specifically. So after a few extra insights from Xo and Alba, who reminded Jane not to "hijack her dreams" since they'd be there to help, Jane decided to follow her initial instincts and go to grad school after all.
And one can only hope that Jane's struggle will resonate with real-life mothers and help motivate them to pursue whatever path that makes them happy.
Image: Patrick Wymore/The CW
