From high achieving to middle of the road
From celebrated to critiqued
Feeling out of place and out of sorts
Feeling like you don’t belong
Looking for your people
Looking over your shoulder
A community of one
Being on best behaviour
Biting your tongue
Oblivious to the unwritten rules
Unspoken expectations
Nothing ever being good enough
Perfection being the enemy of good

An imposter outside too
Nobody understands what you’re doing
Ideas above your station
Expectation upon expectation, piled on
To change the world
Blaze a trail
Achieve!
Carrying the weight of the world, the hopes of a family
An accent that is fair game to be mocked in there
But now you’re ‘talking all lah-de-dah’ out here
Who are you really?
Where is your identity?
Is it the victim of your success?

REF: W-27062025-01