[Essays from My Heart]

My Small Lunch Boxes Written in Words

Since the scorching midsummer day when I first set foot on American soil, I have walked a path filled with challenges and adaptation for decades. At times, the road felt strange and exhausting, yet at other times, it was filled with gratitude and joy. Along that journey, I developed one enduring habit—writing. Writing became a faithful friend that comforted me, and a precise compass that helped me piece together fragments of my life. It steadied my wavering heart and served as a mirror reflecting my past.

Over the years, these writings grew into six essay collections published in the world: 13 Lunch Boxes, Winter Sea Story, Virginian Spring, Virginian Summer, Letters from Virginia, and Spring within Winter. Like the seasons, each book embodies a slice of my life—an honest record where joy and sorrow, gratitude and reflection, meet and intertwine.

The message I wish to share with my readers is simple:
 “We are all travelers on the immigrant’s path, writing our own stories along the way.”

This path is often lonely and difficult. Language barriers, cultural differences, and struggles with identity constantly test us. Yet, it is precisely along this road that we relearn, grow again, and rediscover hope.

My first book, 13 Lunch Boxes, revisits my years as a student and my journey of settling in America. In research labs, libraries, and around the family table, I opened one lunch box of life after another. Sometimes it was the weary meal of an immigrant, other times the joyful feast of learning and achievement. Inside those boxes were the teachings of mentors, the devotion of family, and the many trials I had to overcome.

The second book, Winter Sea Story, began with inspiration drawn from the quiet rhythm of waves. Listening to the ocean’s sound, I wrote of the solitude of a stranger, longing for my homeland, gratitude toward respected figures, and cherished memories of childhood.

The third, Virginian Spring, contains my experiences in America—at first foreign, but gradually becoming the soil of my roots. Like spring sunlight, warm and gentle memories blossomed within its pages.

The fourth, Virginian Summer, weaves together reflections on nature’s grandeur, the meaning of humanity, and the stories of family and faith. Amid summer’s vitality, I once again felt the richness of life.

The fifth, Letters from Virginia, is a record of the lingering echoes of contemplation within me. Though the landscapes were foreign to my eyes, I wished to capture in words the deep emotions and realizations they stirred.

The sixth, Spring within Winter, holds the hope that it does not endure, even within the cold of winter. In winters in life, I longed for spring that will surely come again, and wished to share that anticipation with my readers.

Looking back, these books were all “extensions of my thoughts.” In them remain what I saw and felt—joys and sorrows carried between Korea and America, memories of family and parents, gratitude toward students, colleagues, mentors, and juniors and seniors.

I hope these writings may bring comfort and encouragement to Korean readers living in America. Immigrant life is tiring and lonely, but within it, the small discoveries of joy and reflection make our lives resilient. If my words lead someone to revisit memories, or give another the courage to endure the present, then they have served their purpose.

I will continue to write. May my writings be like small lunch boxes—simple meals offered to warm the heart during life’s weariness.

Through writing, I have learned:

• Hardships eventually pass, leaving behind lessons.
• Memories become roots that sustain life, and hope carries us into tomorrow.
• Above all, when we walk this road together, we find greater strength than when we walk alone.

In my essays, there are no grand theories or dazzling success stories. More often than not, there are failures. What I offer instead are the ordinary records and reflections of living as a Korean, a scholar, a father, and a son. Yet I believe that within these simple stories, readers may also see their own experiences reflected.

Even when harsh winters of life arrive, hidden within them are always the seeds of spring. To stumble and fall is simply part of the process of rising again. Our journey is never in vain.

I sincerely hope that these humble writings will become for you a spark of comfort, courage, and unextinguishable hope. And someday, may you also leave behind your own story in writing, becoming an unseen source of strength for someone else.

Published Works by Young B. Choi

1. 13 Lunch Boxes (13개의 도시락), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Amazon, November 2024.
2. Winter Sea Story (겨울바다 이야기), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Amazon, November 2024.
3. Virginian Spring (버지니아의 봄), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Amazon, November 2024.
4. Virginian Summer (버지니아의 여름), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Amazon, November 2024.
5. Letters from Virginia (버지니아에서 온 편지), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Amazon, December 2024.
6. Spring within Winter (겨울 속의 봄), Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Amazon, November 2024.

Author’s Book Introduction: [Click here]

October 1, 2025

{Solti}

Korean Version URL: https://www.ktown1st.com/blog/VALover/347501