Spring break is in a couple of days (or right now, depending on when you’re reading this). There is a palpable sense around our campus that students are ready to walk out of here and board plane bound for the beaches of Mexico or Florida.

Or, for those staying in New York, to their beds for a week-long hibernation. But if we pay attention to the world around us right now, we’ll notice something interesting happening—the air of change reaching across the globe.

Most prominent among the moments of change occurring in our lives is the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. Not only was the Pope’s resignation a complete surprise to many of us (who, besides those who have studied the papacy, even knew the pope could retire!?), but it also created the opportunity for the upcoming convocation of cardinals to choose the next inspirational leader for the Catholic church.

Regardless of the current cardinals’ conservative leanings, they hopefully will make the right decision in electing the one who would represent the changing face of Catholicism.

A more recent change came with the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the dominant figure in an oil-rich country for 14 years. While he was a controversial figure who was called a tyrant by many and clashed with the United States over war strategies in the War on Terror, he became notable for his initiatives to fight poverty and improve education and health care in his country.

Just like the election of the pope, the choice of which influential politician will replace Chavez could prove to be revolutionary.

Continuing the trend, the queen of the Netherlands is set to abdicate her throne in April. Her resignation is yet another reminder for us that the people currently in power will not be there forever.

These big changes, and many smaller changes occurring on local levels, are the changes that bring us, the next generation, into positions of power. But to be able to take on that authority, we need to be alert, informed and ready to act on the opportunities we are handed.

This is when our claims of being mature adults are put to the test. Some may think of college as the bridge to adulthood. But if the long, defining legacies these leaders have left behind have taught us anything, it’s that college is only the beginning.