I still face my fair share of feeling inadequate, feeling like I\u2019m not enough for the course that I do and not enough to match up to the people around me. Studies at Imperial already comes with tons of workload. Being the overly ambitious person that I am, I just can\u2019t stop myself from committing to exciting opportunities and projects! I\u2019m literally surrounded by the best and brightest people around and if I were to experiment or embark on a new project, it\u2019d of course be here, no brainer! That being said, every now and then, I\u2019d get hit with the thought that I am inadequate and that I do not belong here. Everyone else is so smart and seem to know what they are doing while I\u2019m just here, winging it every step of the way.<\/p>\n
On a normal day, as I was commuting back home from uni, I have my headphones on and was listening to my daily dose of Ted Talks. It was about the Imposter Syndrome. Listening to it really shone a different light on what I was going through. It made me realise that I wasn\u2019t the only one facing it. I did notice that many people around me have expressed that they too are going through the same thing, but in subtlety. Being the \u201csciencey\u201d person that I am, I wanted to test my hypothesis. I approached a couple of my friends who are studying the same course, and a few doing other courses to make sure I was getting data from a wide pool of samples. I can safely say that I am for sure, not alone.<\/p>\n
The reason why I would think that I\u2019m alone in this struggle is that I don\u2019t show it on the outside and so does everyone else. On social media, I portray myself as this kid from Malaysia who\u2019s living his life, exploring new places and learning new things. That is definitely true, but I\u2019ve completely eliminated the ugly parts. The days where I\u2019d get so overwhelmed, I couldn\u2019t get myself to do any work. On those days, all I wanted to do was to leave London, to escape for a few days to recharge. Yes, recharging is important, but I soon realised that this is not sustainable, as all I\u2019m looking forward is to my next getaway. I needed a solution, a long-term one that would sustain me through the rest of my course and my life when I enter the workforce.<\/p>\n
What I\u2019ve found to work so far, is, to be honest to the people around me about my struggles and talk about it. I soon realised that I wasn\u2019t the only one. In fact, there are many who face the same issues and that talking about it really changes things. Not only do I feel better now, but I have also found a support system that I can fall back to when I feel overwhelmed. By having people who understand the struggles you\u2019re going through and support you along your journey as you support theirs, life seems much better after all.<\/p>\n