ImmigrationSome people emigrate from foreign countries into the U.S., and have to experience the life here for a long time in order to assimilate. My dad and his brothers had arrived in America, and they were being placed in a new environment. They had to assimilate into the environment and throw away their old cultures and become more like everyone else. There are two paths to follow as an immigrant: to absorb new information and adapt to your settingMy father is one of the brightest people I know, but not even smartness could vault him past the barrier that was put in his path, being an acceptable person. He had been one of the most popular people in his old school his whole life, and had to start over again on his quest to become one of ÃÂthe guys.ÃÂ He encountered lots of problems, but didnÃÂt resort to drugs or any other artificial glee enhancers.
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United StatesFighting through all of it, he stiffened his resolve and endured all the pain and agony others caused him. He survived through school, went to college and got a degree, got married, and became a successful worker. He mentally prepared for the barrage of information that was to be thrown at him during the next couple of months and assimilated to the new environment, absorbing information and learning the right way to deal with people that he had not met before.
My uncle also arrived with my father to America, and was not as prepared as my dad had been. He was younger than my dad, and was exposed to more of the bad side of America than the good. He hung out with the wrong crowd, and when he discovered that his life was slipping, he resorted to cigarettes and liquor to...