The DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) truly represents the melting pot that is the United States. As I wait for my Real ID, the woman on my right reads a magazine in Russian. The woman on my left is reading in Cantonese. Along the wall, another woman is on a video call in Tagalog, as a rooster crows in the background drowning out the man’s voice on the other end of the line. The man in front of me speaks in a blend of Spanish and English, which I appreciate as it helps me expand my knowledge of Spanish.

Behind the glass, a DMV worker with their hair in a top knot wears a mask that says, “Love is Love” in rainbow colored embroidery. They type frantically, trying to keep up. I notice shoulders are up and they are holding their breath. I smile with empathy and comment on how busy it is, reminding them to breathe. They smile back beneath the mask. One thing I learned during the pandemic is that you can always tell when someone smiles with their eyes.

The Russian lady next to me mentions that she’s been waiting for four hours. She starts to lose hope, there are sixteen people ahead of her number. She clenches her ticket, and says her husband has been at home in his wheelchair for four hours. I ask if he is okay. She says yes but worries, and tears begin to flow from her eyes.

I encourage her: ‘Don’t give up now! You’re so close. Half the people waiting have probably left, so hang in there!’ The lady on my other side, with pink hair and a burgundy shag coat, agrees. Reassured by our encouragement, she settles in and gathers her emotions. She then stands up and asks the person behind the counter for help. They help her next. When she finishes, she turns around to me and says thank you! I reply encouraging her more for sticking it out! This is humanity.

One thing about the DMV is that no matter who you are or where you come from, we all wait the same. We empathize with each other. We all hope and pray that we won’t have to come back for another twenty years. I remember the old adage: a water lily can’t grow without the mud.

I get to the window after two hours of waiting and the lady says I have to come back in five days due to the holiday weekend. I laugh because I know it’s the government computer system and not her. She gets an A for effort. And for me, I get animal fries from in ‘n’ out burgers across the street. Because life is too short not to get the fries.

-Keri