Imposter Syndrome

Throughout my life, I have experienced many symptoms of Imposter Syndrome. My symptoms first started to appear during soccer. Even though I had played soccer my entire life, earned a spot on a successful traveling team while in high school, and then earned a scholarship to play in college, part of me still believed that all of this had happened by luck or by mistake. While soccer was my favorite thing in the world when I was younger, by the time I got into college, I found myself constantly in fear of being found out that I was a fraud. I would dread practices and games in fear of messing up, rather than looking forward to them and looking at them as a chance to showcase my skills.

This fear of failure consumed me, and while I have not experienced Imposter Syndrome to that extent in a long time, I still feel that way at times during OT school. While I am confident in my abilities and knowledge as an OT student, I am nervous to see how my knowledge and skills will carry over to fieldwork and eventually to when I start my career. I am afraid that once I actually need to implement my skills in real-life situations, I will discover that I am actually not as creative or competent as I actually thought that I was. These feelings are reflected in my score of moderate IP experiences on the quiz.

Prior to this lecture, I thought that I was alone in my feelings. After completing this assignment, I actually feel normal and more confident. While I may feel nervous right now about my abilities, I know that with experience, I will continue to grow in my knowledge, skills, and confidence.