This might be years of persevering in school, for example.
But he persevered at school and, after an initial rejection, entered Jacob Kramer College, in Leeds.
She sat forward on the sofa, looking through binoculars made by looped fingers, and at one point asked her parents if they'd been kidding when they promised her a laptop if she persevered at school.
Mr Fischer was not good at anything else, had not persevered in school, had never done another job, had never married, but had pinned every urgent minute of his existence to 32 pieces and 64 black and white squares.
Harry persevered at school, winning the annual Art Cup, but when he was 16, he joined the advertising company in which his father worked and began to hone his skills as a commercial artist.
The award ceremonies will recognize students who persevere in school and maintain a positive attitude, although not necessarily those with straight A's, spokeswoman Audrey Brown said.
Teen fan Cierra Bosarge says she reached out to J. Cole in 2013, writing him a letter (which she later summed up in a tweet) about how he had inspired her to persevere in school, despite having a hard time academically.
But I still love animals, and admire the people able to persevere through veterinary school, in the face of daunting odds and heavy financial challenges, to care for them.
Even for those who persevere through graduate school and beyond, the dearth of faculty positions can dash their hopes of an academic research career.
"My hope for my children is that they understand the importance of going to school and persevering in their studies," she said.
