The first test in US - DMV

 

The DMV Isn't Scary Anymore

If someone asked me what scared me the most when I first moved to the U.S., my answer would be simple:

The DMV.

My first visit was to the Newark DMV, which already had a reputation for long lines and frustrated customers.

It lived up to that reputation.

After waiting for what felt like forever, an employee started calling someone's name.

Again.

And again.

No one stood up.

I remember thinking,

"I wonder who's missing their turn."

A few minutes later, I realized something embarrassing.

They had been calling my name the whole time.

Back then, I only used my Korean name.

Hearing it pronounced in an American accent, I didn't recognize it at all.

The same thing happened with my brother's name.

When we finally walked up to the counter, the employee said,

"We've been calling you."

We insisted they hadn't.

They insisted they had.

Looking back, we were both right.

After that, every DMV visit felt stressful.

The lines were endless.

There always seemed to be one more document I didn't know I needed.

And somehow, I always left with a driver's license photo that looked like I had just lost an argument.

Fast forward several years.

Things have changed.

Or maybe I have.

I now recognize how my name sounds when it's pronounced differently.

The DMV also seems much more organized than it used to be.

two years ago, I visited DMV with my four-month-old baby, and an employee kindly let me skip the long line.

More recently, when I went to get my REAL ID, the staff patiently explained every document I needed.

One even smiled and said,

"Great, you already have everything ready."

That wasn't the DMV I remembered.

Sometimes I wonder what changed more.

The DMV...

or me.

Maybe both.

The DMV used to feel like the first real test of living in America.

Now it's simply another errand on my to-do list.

And somehow, that feels like progress.