Imposter syndrome... as a former graduate student, I know that one well. It sounds like the roots of mine are quite different. I come from a highly educated white family, where advanced degrees are simply expected, but those expectations echoed and multiplied in my mind to a deafening degree. No matter what I accomplished, it was never enough. Of course, being female does play into it a bit, when society constantly undervalues or underestimates your intelligence and only validates your own insecurities. It's those small moments where all of the evidence you've aggregated to show yourself that the imposter syndrome is really just in your head collapses like a house of cards.

The imposter syndrome took me a long time to get over. Ultimately it was a matter of finding a comfort in not being the smartest person in the room, which I was never going to be in any PhD program. I had to acknowledge that no matter what, I have my own individual talents and qualities that make me special and make my presence worthwhile.