07/04/2026
Happy 4th of July! This one is personal for me.
(1st pic used as passport picture of 8 year old Mi Ran. 2nd pic of all four of us returning to Korea together 35 years later)
I immigrated to the United States from Korea at 9 and a half years old. My brother was 14. I walked into 3rd grade, and he walked into 8th, neither of us really knowing what came next. My (step) dad was in the Air Force — actually, that is how my parents met. He was stationed in Korea, and the rest is history. This man was supposed to be my DAD. 🤍
Coming to America changed everything for the three of us in such a positive and impactful way. And then the four of us became a family. Because of that, 4th of July is my second favorite holiday — nothing will ever beat Christmas with the birth of Jesus — but this one hits HOME because it is a reminder of what it means to actually CHOOSE this amazing country. To arrive here as a child to a new: language, school and a real opportunity at life... and to grow up feeling genuinely PROUD to be an American. That pride never gets old for me.
So today, wherever you are and however you are celebrating, I hope you feel it too. The gratitude, the joy, the weight of what this day actually means.
Happy Independence Day from our family to yours. 🎆
