By Mahima Mehta, Peer Research Ambassador
It’s easy to get in your head. I do it a lot. It’s especially easy when you’re surrounded by people you admire, people who obviously know what they are talking about.
For many of us undergraduates, research is a new and exciting opportunity. There is so much that comes with joining a lab. Think about your first lab meeting. You’ve made it past the interview stage and now you’re sitting beside your new labmates. They’re giving their elevator pitch about their research. Or maybe you are going over a research paper together. What are you thinking to yourself? Oh my god, what am I going to say when it’s my turn? They know I’m new to this. What if I say the wrong thing? Everyone starts somewhere. I don’t even know what they’re talking about. I don’t belong here–
Like I said, that’s an easy rabbit hole to fall down. Oftentimes, we think more about the things we don’t know rather than what we do and those feelings stick with us. I get it. Regardless of how many times we’ve been in new experiences, they can be intimidating. But now what? Are we supposed to be stuck feeling like an imposter forever? That’s no fun. It’s important for us to become consciously aware of these thoughts and get comfortable with confronting that little voice in our heads.
The first step to fighting this narrative is realizing that you’re a part of the lab because the principal investigator saw potential in you to not only contribute to the projects, but for you to become the best student researcher you can be. You’re sitting at that table with your labmates because you deserve to. Remember that.
As uncomfortable as it may be, we need to normalize this feeling. Believe it or not, a lot of people feel some form of imposter-ish in their line of work. Maybe it’s comforting knowing that you are not the only one who experiences these feelings. It’s challenging because there’s a taboo in speaking up about our self-perceived fraudulence.
My biggest piece of advice to get more comfortable in lab meetings is to simply talk. Say anything. Showing up to lab meetings already has you half of the way there to gaining a deeper understanding of the projects in the lab, contributing to the conversation in any way you can shows that you’re interested in being there – which you are. The easiest way to get involved is to simply ask questions! I know it’s easier said than done, but these questions don’t need to be extremely deep. I’m willing to bet that there are at least a few times when you’re reading a paper or listening to your labmates talk about their projects, and a bit of confusion comes up. Take that opportunity to ask for clarification. Soon, you’ll have a better understanding of the topic, and that’s what we want!
Next, we need to acknowledge and celebrate our achievements. We often hear the phrase, “comparison kills progress,” and it’s true! You need to celebrate when you accomplish a goal of yours! You interviewed with a PI whose research interests you. Congratulations! You contributed to the conversation during lab meeting. Awesome! Your PI asked you to take the lead on a project. That’s great! I get that it may feel silly in the beginning but – trust me – it helps! You need to give yourself a pat on the back for all of your hard work, because you were the one putting in the hard work.
With that being said, we realize that we don’t know everything. Given that you’re new to the lab – or maybe even the research topic of the lab – it’s expected that you don’t know everything. There will undoubtedly be mistakes or failures you make along the way. Just know that we all go through it, and still go through it. Your PI doesn’t get every grant they apply for! We all get told “no” and that is normal! Success isn’t linear. It has its ups and downs, just like all things in life.
At the end of the day, everyone feels like an imposter in their own world to some extent. As long as we acknowledge that we earned our positions and deserve to celebrate our victories, we’re going to be okay.
We can get in our own way sometimes, but we don’t need to. Perhaps it’s not a mindset that we can fix overnight, but now you’ve got some of the tools to start looking at things with a new perspective!
You’re doing great!
Mahima is a senior majoring in Molecular & Cell Biology and minoring in Spanish. Click here to learn more about Mahima.