Perfectly in Tune by Ivy

Perfectly in Tune by Ivy - February 2026 Scholarship Essay

From the very moment I could understand I remember being told that I am the kind of person who knows exactly what I like and who I am. Adults said this to me in admiration as if it completed me. I confidently began to make it a habit of trying to fit this description with who I was all while just beginning to grow up and learn who I was supposed to be.
Years later, as I sat in an orchestra surrounded by my classmates, I held a violin rested between my shoulder and chin. Although my peers surrounded me, I felt isolated in my thoughts and then I began to wonder if this little thing I enjoyed was more like me than I thought. It had a sense of certainty that was more than misleading. It looks as if it knew how to be perfect and still, but before you even begin to play a single note everything had to be just adjusted, the tuning, the tightening of the bow, the balance. The violin demanded all of these things to be able to perform correctly.
Growing up I had a similar tension, the demand to know everything and be perfectly decisive, the expectation to be exactly “in tune”. Because of this, I started to connect uncertainty and insecurity with failure. I prepared myself for the worst possible situations even the unlikely so I couldn’t be struck with surprise. Much like a violin, I believed it was best to be prepared.
As I continued to play I realized that this perfection did not last forever. The more I played the more it helped me understand that the violin had to first be out of tune to become tuned. Because no matter how many times I meticulously tuned the strings, the pitch would always alter with temperature or accidentally getting bumped, and even by playing it. While playing it mistakes happen although they are small and quiet so you have no other choice but to keep playing because the song didn’t stop for a tiny mistake.
I no longer try to stay this outwardly confident person who “knew everything” when in reality I was wrestling with uncertainty. The violin helped me realize that I, like music, can't be perfected before I am played. The flaws are better through repeated practice and constant listening. Now I allow myself to learn and readjust which felt unnatural at first but is now beneficial. When I slightly fall out of tune I don’t get discouraged, I use it as a reminder that I am not defined by my flaws and I'm continuously growing.