Dealing with imposter syndrome as an International student
As someone who believe so much in herself; I never thought there would come a phase in my life where I would start to look for YouTube videos on how to fight imposter syndrome.
My first month in the University of York tested every part of me: in class, I felt like a dullard, I leave my classes feeling sad and confused. Like, where do I start from? This feeling persisted for like a month and before I realized, I started to doubt myself, I started to talk less in class (best graduating student in the mud), I became a backbencher in class just to make myself invisible, sometimes I even feel ugly in my own skin (emi most beautiful), and I apologize for almost everything.
This feeling still creeps in every now and then, but below are some tips that I believe have helped me in navigating this phase of my life so far:
📌Accepting that there is a knowledge gap
The first thing I had to come to terms with is that there is a huge knowledge gap that I needed to fill, and I had to stop comparing myself with other students in class because we’ve been exposed to different learning environments. So, if these people are reading a material for 2hours, I might have to invest 10hours to make sense of the same material. So, I feel this realization actually humbled me and made me more graceful to myself.
📌Realizing that I am not alone
I once met a classmate who walked out of a lecture crying and while I was trying to make her feel better, she told me that she is afraid she might fail because everything just seems too complex. This lady thanked me for helping her but SHE actually helped ME. Because at that moment, I realized “it’s not about you, Roqeebah“ postgraduate programs are just challenging.
📌I sought help
By this, I reached out to a senior colleague who helped me in rebuilding my foundational knowledge and I took it from there. If you are reading this right now, THANK YOU. I also spoke with my loved ones for morale support, and I made a post about this on LinkedIn as well where I got hundreds of encouraging words, THANK YOU.
📌I earned my place here
I had to constantly remind myself that I paid to be in this university; I sacrificed hours and days trying to draft the perfect SOP; I got the scholarship because I deserved it; I sacrificed energy, time, fun time to graduate with a first class. I have paid my dues and I deserve some accolades.
With all these, I started to dress, and carry myself with more grace and elegance. My shoulders were back, my head held up high, I resumed my first row sitting position in class, I started to ask and answer questions in class, and I apologize only when I am wrong.
Right now, I feel like a landlady in York (I run this town)😎
It has been the most challenging 6months of my life but no regrets because the growth is evident.
I just hope these tips helps someone, especially Nigerians in diaspora
🥂
#selfawareness #selfdevelopment #impostersyndrome
As someone who believe so much in herself; I never thought there would come a phase in my life where I would start to look for YouTube videos on how to fight imposter syndrome.
My first month in the University of York tested every part of me: in class, I felt like a dullard, I leave my classes feeling sad and confused. Like, where do I start from? This feeling persisted for like a month and before I realized, I started to doubt myself, I started to talk less in class (best graduating student in the mud), I became a backbencher in class just to make myself invisible, sometimes I even feel ugly in my own skin (emi most beautiful), and I apologize for almost everything.
This feeling still creeps in every now and then, but below are some tips that I believe have helped me in navigating this phase of my life so far:
📌Accepting that there is a knowledge gap
The first thing I had to come to terms with is that there is a huge knowledge gap that I needed to fill, and I had to stop comparing myself with other students in class because we’ve been exposed to different learning environments. So, if these people are reading a material for 2hours, I might have to invest 10hours to make sense of the same material. So, I feel this realization actually humbled me and made me more graceful to myself.
📌Realizing that I am not alone
I once met a classmate who walked out of a lecture crying and while I was trying to make her feel better, she told me that she is afraid she might fail because everything just seems too complex. This lady thanked me for helping her but SHE actually helped ME. Because at that moment, I realized “it’s not about you, Roqeebah“ postgraduate programs are just challenging.
📌I sought help
By this, I reached out to a senior colleague who helped me in rebuilding my foundational knowledge and I took it from there. If you are reading this right now, THANK YOU. I also spoke with my loved ones for morale support, and I made a post about this on LinkedIn as well where I got hundreds of encouraging words, THANK YOU.
📌I earned my place here
I had to constantly remind myself that I paid to be in this university; I sacrificed hours and days trying to draft the perfect SOP; I got the scholarship because I deserved it; I sacrificed energy, time, fun time to graduate with a first class. I have paid my dues and I deserve some accolades.
With all these, I started to dress, and carry myself with more grace and elegance. My shoulders were back, my head held up high, I resumed my first row sitting position in class, I started to ask and answer questions in class, and I apologize only when I am wrong.
Right now, I feel like a landlady in York (I run this town)😎
It has been the most challenging 6months of my life but no regrets because the growth is evident.
I just hope these tips helps someone, especially Nigerians in diaspora
🥂
#selfawareness #selfdevelopment #impostersyndrome
