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Mellix did the same thing along similar lines to assimilate herself. She began to pay attention to the words and styles of the writing she was so unfamiliar with. Through her desire to learn she could further her assimilation process. In this passage it shows her desire to change and transition her thinking, "At work, at a health insurance company, I learned to write letters to customers. I studied form letters and letters written by co-workers, memorizing the phrases and the ways in which they were used" (Mellix 398). She used the works and writings of her surroundings to help herself further adapt. This is much like what Wangero had done; moreover, she pushed to obtain the things she felt would help her further assimilate and using them as reminders and examples.
Changing the way you respond or see things is only a third of the whole process of assimilation; in addition, adapting just doesn't happen, you have to embrace the essence of the change. It helps to be around people who are assimilated or an environment where you can exercise the proper use of this knowledge. Again both Wagero and Mellix display this type of embracement to help themselves conform. Wangero, for example, put herself in the company of individuals that reflected the same feelings as she did, and in her case it was Hakim-a-barber. (Walker 701) In the case of Mellix, she used college to immerse herself in the style of writing she needed to conform, this is evident here, .
For the most part, the remainder of the term was a period of adjustment, a time of trying to find my bearings as a student in a college composition class, to learn to shut out my Black English whenever I composed, and to prevent it from creeping into my formulations. (Mellix 391).
What both Mellix and Wangero did was to immerse and embrace the aspects of their adaptation and to enable them to further adapt themselves. Many times the biggest factor in not being able to conform is the lack of examples.
