{"id":36890,"date":"2023-05-04T13:09:30","date_gmt":"2023-05-04T18:09:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/?p=36890"},"modified":"2023-05-04T13:09:30","modified_gmt":"2023-05-04T18:09:30","slug":"feeling-like-you-arent-imsa-enough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/2023\/05\/04\/feeling-like-you-arent-imsa-enough\/","title":{"rendered":"Feeling Like You Aren\u2019t IMSA Enough"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a school this competitive, it\u2019s completely normal to feel like a minnow in a sea of sharks\u2014like you don\u2019t belong or someone is just waiting for you to fail. I want to say that we\u2019ve all been there, but the truth is, some people just haven\u2019t yet. And, that\u2019s entirely fine too. However, I know what it\u2019s like to feel like you\u2019re drowning in the IMSA-ness of things and to think that you aren\u2019t getting the most out of this place some people call home. <\/span><\/p>\n

Not Participating in Culture Shows<\/b><\/p>\n

Culture shows are frankly an IMSA staple, and while there are only two now, it\u2019s safe to say that everyone loves when they come around and also when they end. While they are an amusing and a fantastic way to make people feel at home, they can also be stressful and highly time-consuming. In my junior year, I did two out of the four culture shows and was dying despite doing only one dance each. Even with practices taking up a good chunk of your week, many people say culture shows are worth it. The truth is, you don\u2019t have to agree. If dancing is not for you and begins to feel like a chore, it\u2019s okay not to participate. There are many ways to engage with the respective culture without performing on stage. I remember feeling like all the time and money I put into coming here was wasted because I didn\u2019t do more than one dance or participate. While that sounds dumb in the beginning, it\u2019s a genuine thing to feel. And, even if you feel a sense of loss, know that this does not define your IMSA experience. <\/span><\/p>\n

Failing a Test<\/b><\/p>\n

People love to invoke the idea that we are Illinois\u2019 best and brightest and that we are the future. Everyone our age is the future. Everyone makes mistakes. I don\u2019t even like calling failing a mistake. It is 100% normal and okay to fail. It doesn\u2019t define you. It doesn\u2019t affect your chances of getting into college (depending on how many you fail), and it doesn\u2019t change your worth. I have failed every math test I have taken at IMSA. And, no, I don\u2019t mean getting a B- or a C. I mean that I have earned below a 50 on every test. I felt the urge to drop out and quit for a while because I thought that IMSA kids don\u2019t fail. Bullsh**. We do fail! All the time. And, every time we fail, we pick ourselves right back up. That is what makes us belong. So, please, don\u2019t freak out if you fail a test. I\u2019ve gotten straight Cs in math almost all my time here, and I\u2019m doing more than fine. <\/span><\/p>\n

Not Doing Independent Studies, Internships, or SIRs<\/b><\/p>\n

Now, I\u2019m biased when it comes to this because I have done SIRs and Independent Studies for the majority of my time here, and I recommend them a thousand times over. But, if you aren\u2019t in any and have no interest in joining them, that is okay too! In all honesty, they can be a lot to handle. And, it doesn\u2019t make you any less of an IMSA kid if you don\u2019t indulge in the resources given to you. The only thing that truly makes you an IMSA student is that you go to school here. If you want to spend your Wednesdays doing homework and taking a break for once, have at it! Just because it\u2019s there doesn\u2019t mean you have to take it. <\/span><\/p>\n

Going Home On The Weekends<\/b><\/p>\n

I have stayed maybe five weekends on campus for the two years I\u2019ve lived here. And, every single time I left, I felt like I wasn\u2019t getting the whole IMSA residential experience. Sure, my circumstances are different, I need to go home to work to cover my tuition, but even then, I still felt like I should be able to do both. But you can\u2019t do both. If you want to go home and spend time with your family and friends, guess what? You\u2019re still an IMSA student. You still live here five nights out of the week. And, while you may miss out on fun activities, I promise they won\u2019t matter in a couple of weeks. I hated missing out on small dances or trips, but I realized those don\u2019t make me an IMSA student. So, if you want to go home, do it! Enjoy good food while you can. <\/span><\/p>\n

Not Being in Certain Classes<\/b><\/p>\n

I remember feeling terrible about switching to AB instead of staying in BC. I had to take a gap semester, and Problem Solving, which everyone told me wasn\u2019t an actual class. At least, that was until I realized that every course you take here is valuable in some way, and it doesn\u2019t matter what math you are in compared to everyone else. Choose whatever classes are best for you and that will facilitate your learning. There is no point in struggling just to prove a point. Also, choose the courses that interest you! Just because other people don\u2019t like them doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t enjoy them. <\/span><\/p>\n

Not Having Your People<\/b><\/p>\n

Everyone single time someone brings up not having friends or feeling like they\u2019re alone, everyone else\u2019s response is, \u201cJust talk to people!\u201d We all know it isn\u2019t that simple. It is okay not to have a solid friend group here. If you have friends back home you prefer, that\u2019s perfectly fine! Or, if you choose to be alone, do that too! I spent the majority of my junior year without a solid friend group, and now I have one. Sometimes those things take time. If you want to meet new people to make friends, do it! And, if you don\u2019t, that\u2019s entirely fine too. <\/span><\/p>\n

IMSA is hard. Not just academically but in general. The best way to get through it is to change your thinking. Sure, you might think IMSA was the worst three years of your life, but if you stop and consider everything you have accomplished and learned, isn\u2019t it a little bit worth it? <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a school this competitive, it\u2019s completely normal to feel like a minnow in a sea of sharks\u2014like you don\u2019t belong or someone is just…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":796,"featured_media":36891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3003,1019],"tags":[1464,2820,4167,1031,1069,4168,1070],"coauthors":[3880],"class_list":["post-36890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to-imsa","category-imsanews","tag-culture","tag-culture-shows","tag-failing","tag-imsa","tag-independent-study","tag-internships","tag-sir"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/796"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36890"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37060,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36890\/revisions\/37060"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36890"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.imsa.edu\/acronym\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=36890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}