Reflecting back on last semester’s trials and tribulations, I realize now that everything happened just the way it was meant to. For better or for worse, I am now ready for anything life (Berkeley) will throw at me.
As a transfer student I am very familiar with the “imposter syndrome,” as they call it. I know what it’s like to doubt yourself, and feel as if you don’t belong. But I’m now here as an example to let you know, you can do it and you will be just fine.
To be honest, I never saw myself going to Berkeley. One day I just randomly decided to apply and then I got accepted. To be even more honest, I didn’t want to go to Berkeley but I didn’t get accepted to my top schools of choice, and because of that I came to Berkeley with a negative mindset. I didn’t want to go here, so I was almost forcing myself to hate it. I realized thinking this way would only set me up for failure, and I eventually changed the way I viewed Berkeley. I began to think more positive and I started to get involved. I joined two clubs on campus, I went out, I tried socializing and I took advantage of many of the on-campus resources like the Transfer Center.
I never really had trouble meeting new people or making friends until I got to Berkeley. I came across some of the worst people I’ve ever met, here at Cal. I felt as though I was trying everything such as joining clubs and trying to immerse myself into the culture here at Cal, but still wasn’t finding “my group of people.” On top of all of this, I had a roommate that I didn’t get along with very well, so I was struggling inside my “home” as well. Fortunately, I got a new roommate and slowly but surely things started to look up. I’ve now come across some people that I know will be my friends even after I graduate.
Although I had some challenges socially, I have to say my academics were doing just fine. Cal isn’t as impossible as some people will make it out to be. All I heard for the first few months was that I was going to fail my first test, I was going to fail my first paper and I was going to get bad grades. Turns out all the people that told me this were wrong! If you work hard, seek out resources and get the help you need, you will be just fine. Don’t listen to everything people tell you, trust yourself.
As difficult as it might seem at times, you will find your community, your sense of belonging and your success. It’s a process and different for everyone. Some people find this sooner than others, but just believe that things will happen when they are meant to. So if you take away anything from this article, it’s that things take time… but you will be just fine!