Blend In Stand Out 2026
The Winners.
Three students. Three stories. From hundreds of submissions, our judges selected these three pieces as the winners of our inaugural contest.
Genesis Sevilla
"I Found Myself"
Drawing
With this drawing, my goal is to capture the feeling of discovering your identity in a society filled with pressure to fit in. The spotlight represents self-acceptance and embracing your individuality, whereas the surrounding darkness symbolizes societal standards and pressure to blend in. The wings of the angel represent freedom, strength, and the ability to rise above social expectations in order to reach new heights. The contrast between light and darkness captures the struggle between blending in and standing out. No longer burdened by societal standards, the angel steps into the light with courage and confidence to show the world who he truly is, symbolizing the strength and freedom that comes from embracing who you are. Through my drawing, I want to show that self-acceptance does not mean becoming someone new, but having the strength to be seen for who you are. By uncovering the person you were always meant to be, you gain the ability to grow, overcome insecurities, and reach new heights.
Macy Chen
"Where Water Meets"
Painting
These koi swim in a continuous circle, symbolizing the blending of cultures and identities. Though they come from different origins, their movement shows how cultures can coexist, influence one another, and create something unified rather than divided.
Marie Rose Lehman
"One Of Them But Never Part Of Them"
Marker & colored pencil
My art piece is created with markers and colored pencils. In it, you can see a puzzle made of a bunch of items that were popular when I was younger. One puzzle piece does not fit — it's camo, to represent me and how I grew up a military child, and still am, so I struggled with changing schools. For every school I changed to, I adapted what I was into to fit that school and what everyone else liked, but every time I moved I would have to adapt again, and a lot of times being different was hard. In some schools I faced severe bullying for being different. In my art piece, all the other puzzle pieces are different but all fit together, but the military one does not, and the objects on the other puzzle pieces represent the things other kids were into and the things I had changed myself to also "like." The black line that goes throughout the artwork represents my journey through all of it.