The email said my paper was accepted. I stared at the screen for twenty minutes, waiting to feel something other than panic. Everyone keeps calling it a breakthrough. Peacock feathers as lasers—it sounds almost silly when I say it out loud. We were literally just messing around with random materials. Fish didn't work, so we tried feathers. It wasn't genius. It was Tuesday. Now there are articles about me. Scientists from Russia and Japan are citing our work. My professor acts like we planned this. But I remember the exact moment: standing in the lab, holding a feather, thinking 'this is probably stupid.' I'm 20. I have a publication in Scientific Reports. And I've never felt more like I don't belong here. 🧪 What happens when they realize I was just lucky? #Science #ImposterSyndrome #GradSchoolLife