Imposter Syndrome and How to Not Let it Define You
By: Sydney Fiorentino ’24
USC is filled with students who do everything: work part-time, hold an E-board position on multiple clubs, perform research, all while being a full-time student. Some students are even able to party hard on a weekday, and wake up early the next morning to take a test and get an A. The habits of other USC students may feel like you are not accomplishing or doing enough to match others’ level of success. However, should you let what others are doing impact how you feel about yourself or if you belong in a certain environment?
Before everything became in person, I asked another USC student what her least favorite part about USC was. She told me that in her underclassmen years, she had imposter syndrome. I asked her what this meant, and she said she felt like she did not belong to USC and despite how much she had accomplished, she could not match the lifestyle that other people had.
I had never heard about imposter syndrome until my friend mentioned it to me. Imposter syndrome is where someone has constant self-doubt about belonging. According to Harvard Business Review, “Imposters’ suffer from chronic self-doubt and a sense of intellectual fraudulence that override any feelings of success or external proof of their competence. They seem unable to internalize their accomplishments, however successful they are in their field.”
It was not until I stepped onto USC’s campus that I now understood what my friend was talking about. I would say that I experienced a bit of imposter syndrome this first semester. I’d constantly be hard on myself for not doing something or joining more activities, when in reality, I was already doing a lot. In addition to school getting harder and me finding less time to do the extracurriculars I wanted, I was even harder on myself because I wanted to do those things to prove I belonged here. For a few months, I constantly asked myself, “What am I doing here? If I’m not doing ten different things like everyone else here, then why am I here?” I even tried to “fit in” or have that lifestyle that others were living. I joined multiple organizations, partook in research, and partied. However, after weeks and a few months passed, my body was tired and I was behind in schoolwork. I did all this to feel like I was a part of USC, but in reality, this lifestyle for me was unhealthy.
It took some thinking for me to realize that what others do is not a reflection of what I should be doing. Just because I cannot party on Thursday, or be an active member for five different clubs does not mean I do not belong here. In general, everyone has their own accomplishments, so when it comes to comparison, everyone has their own right to be at USC. We all got in for our own successes and all live differently, so just because multiple people are doing something, doesn’t mean that that is the standard for what it is to belong.
I know it is hard to not compare yourself to others. I, especially, have a hard time with that. Something that helped me was looking at what I have accomplished. Big or little, take a moment to reflect on what you have done, whether that is being a good friend to someone back home, or getting an A on a paper. Anything that you define as success is why you are at USC
If you are experiencing imposter syndrome and it is affecting your everyday life and schoolwork, talk to someone you’re close to. Know that you are not the only one experiencing imposter syndrome, and people are there to listen and help you as well.
Just a reminder: Your belonging and success is not defined by others.
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