The DMV experience

It was noon, and I was driving with my great-grandfather in the passenger seat. We were headed to meet up with my father at the DMV so I could get my permit officialized. When we got there, I was astonished at how many people were there, as it was a filled-out parking lot. We saw my great-grandfather and I got out to go inside the building, where I found a line starting at the door.

As you might be able to imagine, I was a bit hesitant to continue on my path, as I questioned whether or not to come back on another day. Unfortunately, my permit was of the utmost importance because of my own mistakes, as I had procrastinated doing this for months now. So, my father and I started waiting. We finally got our ticket, looked at the current number, and realized this might be the death of us.

Our ticket was 134, and the current number was 73. We had to stand the entire time too, because all the chairs were filled already. One hour went by, and the number had only moved to 90, and that is when I noticed only one person was working there, making the process even slower. My reaction to this news was unpleasant, but I gritted my teeth and bared through it. Hour 2 went by, and the number was up to 115, showing improvement, and we got seats to sit in. 25 minutes more go by, and by this point, I am feeling ungrateful and upset at the DMV. I felt as though having only one worker was crazy seeing how many people come in and have important things to get done. Fortunately, our number was called and we got our business done in about 10 minutes.

Reflecting back on this story, patience was something that I did have, and something I managed well. While other people got fed up and left, I thought about it like I was getting one step closer to my own number. I found that I gained nothing by getting upset, and lost nothing by having patience. 

“DMV staff at the Eugene office” by OregonDOT is licensed under CC BY 2.0.