Zaijian Zeum

Zaijian (JI-Jee-en) is "Goodbye" in Chinese.

W.O.W. I can't even believe tomorrow is my last day at Zeum. Almost every single weekend, both Saturday and Sunday, I've been working here since October. Both days all day.

It's going to be weird for me waking up next weekend, knowing that I don't need to rush to work. Working at Zeum has been fun. There are always people who need help, and with my staff shirt on, they would come up to me and ask for help. It felt so good to help them. It was very cool when I taught the kids how to make animations, or a mask, or how to use photoshop, which had been new to me last october. Their creations always surprise me.

I've had to say no to my friends when they asked me out on weekends. or sometimes, after a tiring week of school, I've had to come to work instead of staying home and resting. I'm a busy girl. I usually felt tired when I'd think about coming to zeum at the beginning of the day, but always, after an hour or so, I'd realize I was enjoying myself. How many people can say that about work.

I never thought I'd have the communication skills, photoshop skills, and lots of art skills that I learned here. I've always been a girl who's not into drawing or art. but Zeum had inspired me. i learned that there are other ways to express myself besides drawing. Singing, making clay, photoshop.

Zeum has prepared me for the real world. Like how a working life is going to be. From 10:00am in the morning working all the way till 5:30pm toward the evening. I am glad that I have tried this. I have no regrets. I mean, I did lose lots of time during weekend from resting or hanging with my friends to working...

Everyday working here, there've been surprises and new things to learn about. It's been cool. and honestly, it's worth it.

This place, i will remember it forever.

Zaijian. 再见

Or hopefully, just "see you later".

Why Zeum's Different

When I tell my friends that I work, of course, their first reaction is: where do you work? And then i tell them: Zeum! most of them ask: what is Zeum? where is that? and then I go through this whole process of: you know, that place right next to the bowling and ice skating. it is an art and technology museum.

Then my friends ask: oh. okay. what do you do there? Then I answer: umm.. we do something different everyday, we are in charge of a station, there are machines to control. Help people record their stuff. Or just greet them. Sometimes even sit and work with them. At the end, my friends will get pretty confused and stop asking questions. And I will feel relieved.

Zeum is a complicated place to explain. you've got to work here or come in to visit in order to understand the whole process of zeum. words are not enough, action is key.

Here's a complicated question: How is learning at Zeum different from learning at school? The answer is: very different! At Zeum, we are learning with a much smaller group of people. There isn't the same pressure or competition. Unlike at school, you don't compete with other zeummasters to see who'll get better grades. and there is no point to competing. It's different, but still a job.

But it's a job where we learn, which is different than most jobs for teenagers. We get paid, yes, this is a job. but also very different than a regular job. Other friends i have work at the Gap, customer service, at foot locker.

I mean, everywhere you go you learn something new, but at zeum.... learning is interesting. it doesn't make me feel like "ohh great! another work day!" but more like "hmm, I wonder what's new at zeum today. I wonder where I am going to work. I wonder if it is going to be busy or not. " working at zeum has made me have all these questions.

Compared to school. one day there is 6 to 7 classes, plus clubs and after-school activities. at home, i will have homework, tests and quizes to worry about. one class will have at least 30 people, everyone is competing with everyone. I try hard to get good grades, either beat my peers' record or beat my own. sometime, I get so tired that i want to give up. however, I know I shouldn't. I know everything I am doing right now at school is going to be in my record for the rest of my life. it is going to follow me.

But zeum, yes! You can say this is a fun job. You can say this is a easy job. But i will say that this is a job which will help.