Being one of few black kids in a majority white school, often leads to an inevitable run in with insensitive racial remarks. But when I set out to create— “Standout”—it wasn’t the moment of initial discomfort at a racist remark, that I wanted to lean into, rather the moments afterward—the time you spend wondering “ Should I have said less” or “Maybe I should’ve said more”.

I always felt these battles of self-reflection weighed the most, yet were sometimes invisible to outsiders. Thus, in ‘Standout’ I wanted to depict how this internal struggle manifests in our actions and friendships alike.