“A Berk-Life Balance” Part One: Confronting Imposter Syndrome
People sometimes have concerns that Berkeley is academically cutthroat. As Ambassadors, we love to explain that the culture is much more collaborative than competitive. But it can still be difficult to deal with the “Berkeley bubble” of overachievers; imposter syndrome is definitely real.
This feeling can happen any year, but as a current junior, I feel it’s especially relevant. Many of my classmates have taken up officer positions in clubs while juggling internships and difficult upper division classes. It almost feels like you have to burn out just to catch up.
For context, let me describe my campus involvement: I’m taking 13 class units, 1 of which is a theory class. I have officer positions in 3 organizations and I work as a Campus Ambassador. I’m also in two social organizations for fun. So on any given day, my calendar is pretty full; on the busiest weeks, I’ve had blocks of 3+ back-to-back meetings.
Sometimes, it feels like I’m still not doing enough. Nobody looks down on me for doing “less”; everyone is very nice and encourages me to take things at my own pace. But I see that other people are doing as much as me while taking 20 class units, or they’ve had several internships already, or they’ve started their own club. Some days I wonder how I can even measure up.
Deconstructing imposter syndrome takes a long time; even now, I’m still dealing with it. What helps me is to take a step back and realize not everyone is doing this much. It’s just the bubble I surround myself with. This is true within Berkeley, but on a broader level, it’s true outside of these hyper-selective academic institutions as well.
Professors and athletes at the highest level feel imposter syndrome because they’re surrounded by so many other amazing people. So if even the people you admire feel like they’re not enough, you kind of realize it’s all made up. Everyone is trying to reach an impossible standard.
Another thing I do is talk to my friends about this feeling, both the overachievers and people who aren’t pushing themselves every single second. Most of this advice is from them. Yes, some of them have similar schedules, but others are choosing to take it easy and only committing to 1-2 clubs. Or they’re taking less units and one internship. That way, they have the energy to give their full effort to their commitments. It’s hard to do well in anything if you spread yourself too thin. It’s very difficult to get good grades and be a top employee and manage an organization. Even if someone is doing that, the tradeoff might be their mental health or leisure time.
This all might seem pretty obvious in theory. I know all of this on a logical level; I’ve heard it many times in Golden Bear Orientation and many mental health presentations. But it’s really, really difficult to internalize.
The best advice I’ve gotten is that each person has their own capacity and life circumstances. Some people might be able to handle more biologically or mentally. For example, it’s possible that because of genetics, someone might function well on very little sleep. Or someone might be going to therapy, which allows them to process their stress and emotions. All of these can contribute to people’s various levels of wellbeing. That in turn influences how much of a workload they can take on.
So remember: it’s not a competition of who can burn out faster. It’s a collaborative effort to build community and flourish in healthy ways.
Tips for this in part two [link when it’s out]!