Do I really belong here?

When it feels too much - plus, a new podcast episode and the Music Highlight

Photo by Matthew Ansley on Unsplash

Have you ever felt during your PhD that you do not belong?

We hear about it all the time, and most of the times under the name of imposter syndrome. Because it has been used so much on social media and very often the wrong way (as other terms like autism, OCD and so on, which are used to the point where they do not mean what they really do) and I will not be using this name.

Instead, I want to talk about the deeper, quieter feeling that we carry perhaps daily: the sense that everyone else knows what they're doing - except you. That maybe being admitted to the PhD was a mistake or an accident. That every seminar where you didn’t speak, every paper that took months to write, every moment you hesitated to ask a question somehow maybe shows you are not cut out for this. You are doing something wrong.

Here's what no one tells us: feeling like you don’t belong is normal. In fact, it often has nothing to do with our ability, intelligence, or potential.

Many brilliant PhD students - across fields, countries, and backgrounds - have these doubts. I’ve had them too and especially because of my age. This is not entirely my fault, because I have been told this by supervisors I had written to so they could take me on as a student. I have heard it by people who know I am doing a PhD - not a lot, but still. And while these insecurities don’t always disappear, what helps is naming them, sharing them, and building communities where we remind each other: we do belong. We deserve to be in academia.

We belong, no matter where we come from, who we are, how old we are.

Linguistics Now - a new episode!

Have you listened to the latest episode on Linguistics Now? My guest is the amazing Erez Levon! We had a compelling conversation about social identity, class, gender, sexuality, and national belonging in various countries and linguistic communities.

Listen on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts!

The Music Highlight

I was born at the end of the 70s, so I think I am a disco kid deep down - haha!

Enjoy this amazing, groovy track by Earth, Wind and Fire!