I love this idea of persistence. I feel like even as college students it is easy to get discouraged when you think about how much school you have left, and how much left you have to do, but it requires persistence. I think anything that requires an extended effort makes you have to work harder to get it done. I like the idea that you mentioned about the distance required. In all things I think it takes the length of what ever you are trying to persist through, but developing the trait of persistence could take your whole life.
-Ashlee