Assimilation: Changing Or Adapting? By Alex B.

To assimilate means to accept ones culture, belief, lifestyle above your own. People usually assimilate to "fit in" to society. They usually do it to fell accepted. This of course must means that they must be different than society in the first place. Whether if it is in how they talk, dress, or even their religious beliefs. The act can show positive or negative effects in a person. I myself have seen people assimilate to today's world. Usually it is how they dress. This is what I see most likely. If a guy goes and makes new friends that dress to a specific genre of teen, he will most likely begin to dress like the group. It can show in their speech as well. Someone can be a person of good moral. But if he begins to hang around the "wrong" group;, that cusses and such, the person might begin to cuss to. Of course though, assimilation doesn't have to be a bad thing. The clothes the person began to wear might be a more professional wear of clothing. Example, someone who sags, if that even exists anymore, to a person who wears more appropriate clothing. The person who changes their language might be someone who used to cuss to someone who doesn't cuss anymore. The decision to assimilate can be good or bad, it depends on societal and moral views. These people usually do it to fell accepted and better about themselves by acting upon their feelings of their relationship with the world's beliefs.
I myself have assimilated before. It wasn't dramatic or a big deal in any way. The only example I have ever realized is the clothes I wear, and it wasn't to "fit in". I started to wear different brands of clothing, that was popular at the time and probably still is now, and it was because I first got a shirt of the brand and began to like it. Although, at the time I didn't realize I was assimilating because I did it for me, not for the world, society, or anyone.
Assimilation also shows in literature as well. In A Raisin In The Sun, the character Walter assimilates to the world by wanting to open a liquor store, because it is believed to be able to make a lot of money, despite of the fact that he doesn't completely agree with drinking himself. He is doing this to meet the standards of society so he can make some money. This makes the play look bad because it shows the bad side of people's decisions which represents themselves, and since the character is African American, represents his race in a bad way.
Eric Liu, in The Notes Of A Native Speaker, shares his past experiences with assimilation and how he thought about it. Eric is a Chinese American who assimilates with "White" culture to fit in. He states he did it to first fit in, but also states that he did it to be a successful person; a white person. He says he tried to be successful while at the same time trying to be white. He says he is now more white than Chinese, and states the conflict he has with accepting whether the life he lives now is good or bad. In my opinion, he did the right thing, because he assimilated to become successful, and since someone can never get away from their roots, he hasn't lost his Chinese heritage. So he hasn't really lost anything good, but has just gained good. In my view, nothing is wrong with that.