The study aims at exploring ESL students’ meaningful literacy experience. This study involves 20 ESL students at a middle sized state university in the United States. For the data in this inquiry, the wiring task and student interview data were used and grounded theory was employed to analyze the data. The findings of the study revealed that ESL students perceive the meaningful literacy experience valuable in terms of self-expression, self-discovery, emotional relief, and enhancement of English vocabulary. However, some students considered the writing experience challenging due to the unfamiliar topic, vocabulary, and organization. The study also indicated that students have an opportunity to express diverse emotions in their writing piece. Based on the findings of the study, the impacts of the meaningful experience and pedagogical implication of meaningful literacy instruction in EFL contexts were discussed.