It’s the time of year when campus goes quiet and graduating students begin to face the reality of life after college.

And for some students, this new reality will mean be a major challenge.

I recently ran across this humorous commercial that seems to have captured (for me) one of the challenges today’s students struggle with — dreaming big while still being responsible and realistic.

And truth be told, I’m not exactly sure how best to help our students with this…

On one hand, we want our students to dream big dreams. We want them to believe that God can (and will) use them in mighty ways. We don’t want to hold them back or get in the way of how God might want to use them in the world.

But on the other hand, we want to make sure that our students aren’t setting themselves up for failure in the form of unrealistic expectations and unfulfilled dreams. We can’t all be quarterbacks in the NFL, rock stars, or the next President of the United States.

Watch this 30 second video and see if you see what I mean. (Click here if you’re having problems viewing this video in your browser.)

I love this kid! And I think his dreams and aspirations (as portrayed in this clip) are big — HUGE — and even outrageous.

But who am I to tell him that they aren’t likely to happen.

That it’s very unlikely that he’ll ever play in the NFL.

Or that he’ll get drafted by the Panthers — #1.

Or that Cam Newton will still be playing — for him to replace.

Or that Cam’s mom would ever become his biggest fan.

And yet, if he were one of my students, I’d feel compelled to — at the very least — help him come up with a back-up plan for his life.

Yes, let’s pursue this dream — but let’s talk about what you’re going to do if this dream doesn’t come to be.

But most of our students don’t want to talk about back-up plans.

They have their big dream and are often unwilling to believe that it won’t come to fruition — and soon after they graduate.

And when it doesn’t happen — soon after they graduate — they can struggle to know how to move forward.

So, how do we help students to dream big while also being responsible and realistic?

How do you help students know how to pursue their dream(s) — and when to give up on them (or at least, get a job that will pay the bills while they reconsider their dream)?

And conversely, how do you encourage students to stick with their dream — even when things get difficult and the way forward seems near impossible?