Am I wise now? At an event for encouraging graduate student research, a 26yo grad student said she had just heard the term “impostor syndrome,” and she asked how long she’d have to be in the profession before she got over her fears that she was just faking it and didn’t belong.

I looked her in the eyes and told her that her parents, her mentors, and all of their mentors have been making shit up as they go. Part of wisdom is knowing how much you have to learn.

I’m about to leave my 40s and I still feel “impostor syndrome” on a regular basis. If I didn’t leave my comfort zone — by design, on a regular basis — I would not keep growing.