Even before I could point to the United States on a map, I knew America through a world of talking cars. As a child growing up in Korea, I watched the “Cars” series and became fascinated by the vast land with endless highways and small towns alongside the historic Route 66. I admired the freedom and thrilling races. But more than anything, I was captivated by the idea that there is a place so large, you could drive for days and still be nowhere near the end.
I took a road trip recently to Atlanta, and while it was nothing like the vast emptiness of Radiator Springs, passing through major cities such as New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., was unmistakably an American spectacle.
For hours, the landscape constantly changed. The dense streets of the Northeast gradually gave way to wider highways, forests, farmland and cities that seemed to stretch on forever. We passed enormous trucks, bridges, roadside gas stations, and, at one point, even a house being towed across the country. And then there were the historic landmarks: the Statue of Liberty, the Liberty Bell, the Washington Monument, to name a few.
But the most memorable parts of the trip were the strange and unexpected things that would appear. We passed roadside attractions and landmarks I had never heard of before, including the Peachoid, a giant peach-shaped water tower in Gaffney, South Carolina.
In the college town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, we found local restaurants and bars to watch the England versus Norway match in the recent World Cup.
Being in the passenger seat also made me realize that road trips are not always as romantic as they look in movies. Many times, I was frustrated when we got lost or equally annoyed when another driver made a dangerous maneuver in front of us. And, honestly, the drive was exhausting. Looking out the window is fascinating for a while, but there is only so much scenery you can absorb before boredom inevitably sets in.
In South Korea, where I grew up, you can travel from one end of the country to the other in about five hours. Its landscapes are spectacular, but the scale is entirely different. On my road trip to Atlanta, moving from one state to the next sometimes felt like crossing into another country.
This road trip finally helped me understand what the “United States of America” really means. The country is so large and diverse that each state can feel like its own country, with its own landscape, history, and identity. Yet all of them are connected by the same network of roads.
I’ve been in the United States for four years now, but I still feel like I’ve barely begun to explore it. There is so much more to discover, not just in the famous cities I have always known about, but in the small towns and unexpected places along the way.
Junyoung Hong moved to the United States in 2023 and has lived in Belmont since. He is a rising senior at Belmont High School and is interested in writing about social issues, getting to know people, and playing sports. He plays for the Belmont varsity golf team. He also practices taekwondo and leads the demo team, which performs at Belmont Town Day every year.