This article is dedicated to all the men and women in my life, who have helped me question myself, time and again; and helped me overcome what is commonly known as the Imposter Syndrome.

Before, I delve into my store, here is a quick definition of what is an Imposter Syndrome: Imposter syndrome can be defined as a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success.

The key words to notice here are "inadequacy" and "success". The rest, as they say, is history.

I am writing this article, hoping to at least inspire 1 women in technology to think that she belongs here and if things aren't going your way, it will become better :).

The technology industry can be very brutal when it comes to competition. Though the requirement for good talent is abundant, sometimes women can be restrictive in coming forward because they think they are just not "good enough for the role".

If you feel/have ever felt the same way, don't worry, I am with you. I entered the software industry at the age of 21-22, full of dreams and ideas of success. But alas, it didn't last long. In both the corporate jobs that I worked for(about 6 years long) as a software engineer, I never felt that I belonged in the tech industry. I never got to work on any exciting projects that sparked my interest and eventually left my last corporate due to horrible boss who thought that I was completely incapable of doing anything.

If you are with me so far, I am sure that you have figured out by now, that one of my reasons to be unable to succeed was simply my "Imposter Syndrome**". Even when I was doing well or feeling confident about my tech skills, I let my environment, my peers and my surroundings define me.

After my initial corporate stints, I quit my job and started focusing on technologies I loved the most - AI & Blockchain. Despite my multiple failures in the tech industry, I was determined to make myself heard and seen. I started working on up-skilling myself and started to appreciate even the smallest of achievements that came my way. I spoke to peers who uplifted me and joined communities where I learnt to channel my smartness into something productive.

Couple of years down the line, I am really proud of how far I have come. I now solely focus on celebrating my own achievements instead of constantly questioning my failures. I have learnt to accept that I cannot be an expert in everything and it is okay to ask for help :).

So today, I can definitely say that I am a kickass blockchain expert, love playing around with ML models and I am strong enough to be able to give back the knowledge to the communities around me, in whatever way possible.

This IWD, let us #choosetochallenge our imposter syndrome and celebrate us for who we are(We are Awesome!).

Here is a link to a book that I published recently titled : Hands-On Supervised Learning with Python. Here is my personal website. Here is my youtube channel where you can find a bunch of tech videos.

I would always be wary of talking about myself or sharing all the above stated achievements with the world, but today, I am taking a step forward to empower and get empowered.