#MeiThoughtsAbout “Maid”
I randomly found this miniseries on Netflix when I scrolled, searching for what to watch. I rarely think too long about the film/series that I want to watch, if I’m interested enough with the cover, it’s more than enough to give myself the opportunity to watch the film/series. And, Maid is one of the miniseries that I feel very grateful to have watched.
As I said in #MeiThoughtAbout before, I’m not good at judging or commenting on movies/series/books. This is a form of “feeling” that arises after watching Alex and Maddy’s life journey.
Quoting from IMDb, this miniseries tells about a young mother who got fleeing an abusive relationship, finds a job cleaning houses as she fights to provide for her child and build them a better future. What I didn’t expect was that, after completing 10 episodes and finding out more, it turns out that this miniseries is based on a true story — from Stephanie Land’s book of memoirs with the same title, namely “Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will.” to Survive.”
I had very mixed feelings when I watched minute by minute the time that Alex had to deal with, and it got even crazier when I found out that these 10 episodes were true stories from someone’s life journey. It would be too long if I explained Stephanie Land’s thoughts on her book being adapted into a miniseries, so if you’re interested, you can read it here.
So, I learned many things from the ups and downs of Alex’s life, I’ll try to summarize them into the following points.
Don’t limit yourself to trying anything new in front of you
When Alex decides to run away with Maddy from her husband’s house with $18 in her wallet, Alex is directed to come to Value Maids by the Social Service. Activities that are actually carried out daily at home as a housewife, but she never thought she would do them as a job, namely cleaning other people’s homes. But Alex didn’t give up at all, she kept trying. Even after being fired from Value Maids, she tried to put out various cleaning bills. Although nothing is instantaneous, all the efforts in the end bear fruit. The right people find Alex’s contacts, which turn out to be her outlet for more customers.
There will always be a way, you just have to move on and trace it to find out
I’m really tired of the things that keep coming every time Alex just feels “breathing”. Even though he’s done her best for herself and Maddy, there are always other things in her environment that never seem to be on her side. There is one point where Alex shows her emptiness. She seemed to have fallen into a hole, unable to do anything but curl up there. After all means, all effort, all toil, and circumstances never seem to be on her side. So why try again?
As if being lighter, seeing Maddy and her childhood image made her come out of that hole. Even if you have to start from zero again, even if you have to crawl again, Alex will do that. For Maddie’s sake.
You can’t keep everyone in life always by your side, because they have their own life, like you
It happens to Alex whenever it’s about her mom. Because it’s only her mother that Alex has, even though she looks indifferent and always disappears when she is most needed, Alex still returns to her mother. She will still look for her mother, and make sure she is okay even though Alex’s life is far from good. But in the end, she couldn’t do anything. It was her mother’s life, just as Alex had hers.
The sentence that made me quite aware of this was when Alex told about the fate of her mother when she moved to Missoula later. And Denise, the owner of the Domestic Violence Shelter where she lives, said, “What would happen if you didn’t (take care of her)?”
And we all know that Alex’s mother will always be able to live her own life.
I know it’s hard, but always try to wake up from such a miserable life to know that life has a much better side
The second time she returned to DV Shelter, Alex shut herself up longer than before. For 14 days, she and Maddy just sat in the room, waiting for the food to arrive without trying to interact with anyone, including Denise. But the day she came out of the room, she looked like a newly reborn human. Even though she started over from scratch, Alex still did it (again) without giving up. And it turns out this led to brighter days. Got the chance to go to college, visited more and more clients for her to clean the toilets, and in the end, was able to bring Maddy to the Giant M which stands for Maddy.
I recommend this miniseries for you to watch at least once in your life. I don’t know what problem you are facing today, this time, but Alex became my friend in a short amount of time to help me through a tough day. I hope you can feel the same way.
I hope for the best life for you, and every Alex out there.
