{"panels":[{"content":{"params":{"text":"

A story about being an introvert and feeling like an \u201coutsider\u201d as a younger, international student. <\/p>\n"},"library":"H5P.AdvancedText 1.1","metadata":{"contentType":"Text","license":"U","title":"Untitled Text"},"subContentId":"e8eb3ae7-5a4c-4f6f-994b-93c45a71da0d"},"title":"The Imposter by Kalakriti Padmashali"},{"content":{"params":{"text":"

As an international student, I moved to Canada to pursue a degree in design. This fall, I will be going into my fourth and final year of the bachelor\u2019s in design program. Reflecting back on my first year in this country, I realize I was overly insecure with a bad case of imposter syndrome. 1) I was coming from a different country that had a completely different education system from the one I had here. I was afraid that \u201cintellectually\u201d, I didn\u2019t really belong there. 2) Most students in my class were a lot older than me which added to the imposter syndrome. The imposter syndrome also came from being in design and knowing you were judged for your work.<\/p>\n\n

As an international student, it is really easy to alienate yourself from your peers because of your differences and feeling like you don\u2019t really belong there. In an attempt to prove myself (academically and socially) I found myself in a spot where day-in and day-out I would be found at the school library, alone, cowering over assignments that weren\u2019t due for weeks, trying to understand the brief that was assigned to me. Although I spent all those hours working to meet deadlines, I found that I wasn\u2019t doing as well as I\u2019d hoped to be doing considering the efforts I put in. I also quickly realized that while I buried myself in academics, I hadn\u2019t gotten a chance to really connect with my peers.<\/p>\n\n

Great design work comes from collaboration and feedback. Being in my own shell (and really insecure about my skills and myself) I was afraid to get feedback and interact with people in the program who would help me succeed and grow as a designer.<\/p>\n"},"library":"H5P.AdvancedText 1.1","metadata":{"contentType":"Text","license":"U","title":"Untitled Text"},"subContentId":"79d78458-3dda-456a-9c84-4078bc48aeb1"},"title":"The Wicked Problem"},{"content":{"params":{"text":"

As an anxious introvert in a new country, it is very easy to want to trudge through school staying in your comfort zone. When you\u2019re in an entirely new environment, sometimes old habits help you survive, and sometimes it\u2019s not necessarily enough. Human beings are supposed to be the most adaptive species. So, what was stopping me from breaking out of old habits that were clearly not beneficial to me anymore?<\/p>\n\n

After suffering for an entire semester, I found myself wanting to change and do better. For me, the first step was recognizing the pattern that was pulling me down. It was an uphill battle from there. When I came back for my second semester, I decided to reach out to my peers and really connected with a lot of them. The insecurities from the first semester were just that and I had just been letting it get to me the whole time.<\/p>\n\n

I started attending more socials and events that would allow me to become a better designer which in turn, made a huge difference in the work I was putting out. That whole time, my anxiety stayed with me, which I learned to handle by recognizing what my social limits were and when I needed to retreat back into my comfort zone. Creating this balance helped me push through the first year without crashing and burning and helped make it a pretty memorable second semester!<\/p>\n"},"library":"H5P.AdvancedText 1.1","metadata":{"contentType":"Text","license":"U","title":"Untitled Text"},"subContentId":"0d0c45f2-8b75-443e-a36e-c793871300aa"},"title":"Finding a Solution"},{"content":{"params":{"text":"

It seems so obvious but \u2014 it\u2019s so much easier to live without fear than with it. We don\u2019t recognise that often because unfamiliarity can be really scary. The first time you step out of your comfort zone is always the hardest. But you\u2019re one step closer to conquering your fears and it gets better from there! :-)<\/p>\n"},"library":"H5P.AdvancedText 1.1","metadata":{"contentType":"Text","license":"U","title":"Untitled Text"},"subContentId":"1739dc24-9276-4611-b675-5091de7daf69"},"title":"Final Thoughts"},{"content":{"params":{"text":"

Padmashali, K. (2021, October 15). The Imposter<\/em>. Liberated Learners. <\/span>https:\/\/wicked.liberatedlearner.ca\/collaborator\/the-imposter\/<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n"},"library":"H5P.AdvancedText 1.1","metadata":{"contentType":"Text","license":"U","title":"Untitled Text"},"subContentId":"08e93a50-d346-4ccd-a3f1-9de788fd8b10"},"title":"APA Reference"}],"hTag":"h2"}

The Imposter

Description

Liam Peart