For many high school students in Japan, acceptance into a prestigious college or university is often considered the key path toward a successful and stable life, and college entrance exams are the potentially unsurpassable obstacle standing in between them and their sparkling futures. Students study day in and day out during the years leading up to the day of exams, attending cram schools after school until late at night, only to go home and recommence their studies after a quick dinner and a bath. Mock exams are held regularly to keep them constantly on their toes, and rankings show if they're ahead of the pack or if getting into the school of their choice is a dream that is unlikely to come to fruition.

It's a stressful time for everyone involved, particularly the students, the teachers, and the families supporting it all. College entrance exams is an element of the Japanese educational system that has sparked debate for years, many arguing that it is a culture that does more harm than good to the society as a whole. But whatever the trending opinions of the general public, it is still a significant step in a student's academic career, and one that an individual will have to clamber over one way or another.

Poignantly depicting the emotional year of a student preparing for the entrance exams is a commercial for Calorie Mate, filmed from the perspective of the mother. Titled "The Back Of A Dream," the 2-minute video shows the ups and downs of a boy's journey toward college, as the mother quietly watches her son from behind.

Beginning with a rejection from one college, a mother quietly supports her son as he goes back to his seemingly endless studies, an endeavor inevitably met with a series of disappointments and loss of confidence. Sacrifices are made as the boy declines invitations to hang out with friends, and the stress of it all is often taken out on the family. It's a story that is all too relatable for households throughout the country, but the boy ultimately comes to a realization that no matter the outcome, he has the love and support of his family, and everything will turn out as they are meant to be.