The Art of Being a Maid In a Monotonous World

    Tuesday, October 31st, 2022. I walked into school. Taking my usual route to class, I did everything that I normally would on a day-to-day basis. However, today was different – not in terms of my schedule, but in terms of the sheer spectacle I was about to create. Today just so happened to be a very popular holiday called 'Halloween', and it just so happened to be that I chose to wear a very peculiar costume – a costume only worn by those that don't care about their reputation. Can you guess what it was? 


It was a frickin maid costume. I'm not sure what exactly possessed me to do such a horrid thing, but I did it for the poops and giggles I guess. When I had asked my parents to buy this costume, they thought I had hit my head somewhere. Even having to upload photographic evidence of this eye-trash to my blog is making me physically recoil and cover my eyes.

    There was one valuable lesson that this experience taught me, however. Within a month, this maid incident disappeared. Aside from my friends that found pleasure in seeing me cringe, not a single soul mentioned it for the rest of the year–no jokes, no whispers, and no permanent damage to my reputation. The truth is, nobody cares. Really, nobody does. In AP Language this week, we read "There is no unmarked woman" by Deborah Tannen, which claimed that no matter what, it's very difficult for a woman to be unmarked, or not stand out. My experience forced me to ask a quieter question: is being "marked" really something tangible at all? If visibility alone was enough to determine that, then surely my costume would have made me the most markiest, marked male of our school, right? To me, being marked or unmarked is up to one's perception. While Tannen argues that "there is no unmarked woman", I believe that the context and priorities of the environment around you is quite an important factor for the "markability" of an individual. An old, raggedy woman wearing tattered clothes might blend in completely at a homeless shelter, yet at a luxurious 5-star hotel, the same appearance could cause someone to call the cops. It seems that marking is less of an inherent property of a person, but more of a judgement imposed by the space around them.

    Now, back to my horrendous costume. Why was it that something as eye-catching as a maid costume was forgotten? Was it that everybody already perceived me as a weird freako that would do something so stupid? Would everyone have reacted the same if I was at some prestigous private school, or if I was a woman? I guess we'll never know. That's the beauty of being a maid in a monotonous world.


Shoutout to 8th grade Jayden for helping me write this beautiful blog <3




Comments

  1. Sei ParkFebruary 7, 2026 at 2:40 PM

    Wow nice blog Jayden. I liked how you said that marked and unmarked is up to one's perception! That's a view I haven't thought about.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Abhinav JainFebruary 7, 2026 at 7:06 PM

    This is the best blog I have ever read Jayden (no glaze). From the sweet, enticing beginning to the fruitful, profound conclusion, every word in this piece was beautiful. The callback to 8th grade and the maid costume on Halloween was a great example to talk about markedness. The way you wove your words to create this masterpiece is admirable Jayden.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anthony SalemFebruary 7, 2026 at 9:48 PM

    This is really funny but also kinda smart. The maid costume story actually works really well to explain the whole “marked vs unmarked” idea, and the point about context deciding everything makes sense. It feels honest, self-aware, and not try-hard, which makes it easy to read.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Advik TatavarthiFebruary 8, 2026 at 10:35 AM

    Jayden I would like a shoutout for this blog idea I gave for you. To this day I will never forget my reaction to you in the maid costume. I really enjoyed your realization about how events like these never last and will pass over. Fantastic blog Jayden Paik!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Paul LeiFebruary 8, 2026 at 11:36 AM

    Jayden, to this day, I am so glad you wore that costume because it shows who you really are inside! What an intresting take on the idea of being marked or unmarked.

    ReplyDelete

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