Lately, a song my kids listened to back in the late-1990s keeps coming to mind. DC Talk’s “ The Hardway ” meant far more to me than to them at the time, for I was in my mid-40s, an age by which most of us have learned something the hard way.

"Some people gotta learn the hard way

I guess I'm the kinda guy that has to find out for myself

I had to learn the hard way, Father

I'm on my knees and I'm crying for help

A 17-year-old I know is one reason this song keeps rolling through my head. She really wants to go to college, and I’ve helped her for the past month with her application, but wanting a thing doesn’t mean having the willpower and stamina to work for it. She isn’t pushing herself to improve some test scores or to prepare for the rigors of a tough academic program. Despite finan

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