The Confusing Summer of “I Don’t Know”

In a corner of my bookcase, I keep old reference materials that once meant something important. They include the 2011 Barron’s Profile of American Colleges which weighs five-and-a-half pounds. Still affixed to several of its 1600 pages are post-it flags representing a college choice for our son Sam, who was junior that year.

Hanging around in my writing room recently, Sam found the book and hoisted it. “God,” he said.”Remember this thing?”

There are some moments I recall in full only after th...