Pieces of ________

Okay, this one is one my most confusing pieces. I made it on a whim, because I love sticky notes and wanted to infuse them into my drawing space. I envisioned the girl coming out in the same color, with just the sticky notes changing. I quickly learned that the background color effected her color. Not having time to paint or try something else, I went with it. I turned in to a competition called Cultural Shapers, made it past the first rounds, but wasn't selected for regional.

Later, my teacher suggested that I submit it into another contest hosted by the Pearl Fincher Museum. I did, not thinking anything of it, and ended up getting honorary mention. In my eyes it wasn't anything near as important as going to regional with the half of my classmates (and good friends) that did make it. I opted out of going to the ceremony. The next week my teacher showed up with this canvas bag packed full of 200$ worth of art supplies. I felt so guilty and baffled. Why did some people look past my artwork and others enjoy it enough to give me a prize? Why did they like something that didn't go the way I planned?