MaryKGaillard

I understand your problem, but don't be afraid to speak up. Men do it all the time even when they don't know what they are talking about.

My parents never treated my brother and I differently and they gave me the idea that I could do anything I wanted to. I hit some barriers that I didn't expect along the way, but I made it through them all in the end.

I was surprised that gravitational waves were seen already due to much more activity in the universe than anybody expected.

Experimentalists and theorists need each other and continually build on each others work. The standard model is a prime example of this collaboration. The theoretical constructs grew out of trying to understand what the experimentalists were telling us and then the experimentalists in turn set out to verify what the theorists predicted. It's a collaborative effort.

Just be aware that everyone suffers from the imposter syndrome from time to time. I know of at least two examples, myself being one of them when learning from a great physicist that they had the same issue ameliorated my own feelings. Just keep on doing what you like to do.