Jellyfishing!
Right as I was about to begin art school I entered a "Tote Art Contest" and actually won! I used the money to buy literally all of the linocut materials I own, so none of those would be possible without having won this.
It felt sort of odd (heh) to carry the tote around after it had been all over the internet. I was dealing with a huge lack of confidence at the time as well; many of my peers were closer in age to my students than to me. I was wholly self-taught at the time, and completely inept at digital art (still am).
I'll never forget though, one of my teachers gave me an opportunity to speak about my process etc. in class. I mentioned it was mostly recycled materials, including the shirt which was my old work shirt from a terrible grocery store job I had before rerouting and going back to school.
She made a comment about how there being a powerful metaphor in the transformation of materials as I, too, was going through this huge transition. I remember nodding my head rapidly while thinking to myself "damn, that was so art school of her to say".