"Unmasking Imposter Syndrome: A Halloween Tale of Self-Doubt and Triumph"

Spooky season's here and guess what's the scariest thing? The feeling you have after walking into a room and you become self-conscious of how your skill is just the ABC in the vast world of surplus knowledge. The first time I experienced imposter syndrome, I didn't even recognize it. I had signed up for an innovation event, with a random concept just because I was doing a tech degree and all my classmates seemed to be attending it. You can imagine the shock on my face when I found out these guys already made workable demos for their projects yet for me I just knew I had something in my head no experience, no group and no idea where to start. It was on that day it hit me so hard that I was unqualified, and didn't even have a clue or the right amount of curiosity to begin my tech journey. Probably explains why I pulled a sick day for the rest of the week.

Since then multiple episodes of this horror occurred especially after I began venturing into different tech fields. I joined many boot camps and scholarships to get certificates just to post on my LinkedIn. It was after June the biggest monster attacked when it dawned on me I had nothing to show for all the work done gaining all those certifications. No portfolio, no GitHub projects etc just papers no actual skill. Relatively that is where I understood imposter syndrome and started working towards overcoming it.

For people in the tech feed pressure is always a constant, especially in a world of growing technologies and readily available products. Below I'll share a few tips on how I managed (and still manage) to handle the tricks of my monster.

1. Positive Bubble: celebrating the smallest wins even if it's a Hello World kind of achievement. for the journaling souls, a gratitude tracker could help. It keeps you accountable and helps you map out your journey as an aspiring tech giant.

2. Boldness: learning loudly is the best, showing and posting what you are up to, sharing your knowledge with others, engaging in tech challenges and asking for help when needed. The tech community is probably the friendliest one besides the otaku OFC. Also, did you know the October challenge was cyber security awareness-themed?

3. Be curious: Tech happens to offer a slice of cake for everyone's interest. From art to any hobby or work you could ever think of. Resources are readily available just pick your niche.

A quick tip: you're not limited to one stack you can explore till you find your soulmate!