Last week, I looked forward to writing a column about how beautiful the ISU campus is during spring. I planned to single out for special praise the week between the spring semester and the beginning of summer classes.

But by the time I got around to jotting down a few thoughts, the lilacs stopped blooming so fully and summer greenery replaced May’s flowers. Soon after I noticed that change, several big news stories — ones worthy of an Opinion commentary — came out.

Newt Gingrich denounced Rep. Paul Ryan’s healthcare plan. Donald Trump announced that he would not be running for president after all. The Tea Party continued to assert that the government can only prevent you from doing things, not compel specific actions.

A large portion of conservatives continued to believe that the American Revolution was fought over policy disagreements, not the question of how much political power the colonies could exercise on their own. The U.S. government reached its debt limit, spurring the Treasury to shuffle around money — including pensions — to make ends meet.

That all this happened in the course of a few days is a reminder that the world is constantly changing. There is always something going on. Even if our campus is quiet in an almost eerie way, events will continually unfold across Iowa, the United States and the world. Interactions still take place.

We need to be mindful of them, and inform ourselves about the world’s wider goings-on. It would be a mistake to forget that during summer events occur outside our own little worlds. Another mistake would be to let the sunshine and blue skies wipe the news from our minds. We cannot forget to give important news its due. Nor can we forget to explore that news fully.

While it may seem like nothing is happening, there is, in fact, a whole world out there, ready to take you by surprise if you’re not prepared to deal with it.

Dealing with the world requires you to stay informed. It’s important that during these three months we maintain our ability to work hard, fast and cooperatively. Stay alert, and don’t let the warm sun on your back lull you into a false sense of security.

Over the weekend, Indiana governor Mitch Daniels announced he would not run for president. Businessman Herman Cain announced that he would run for president. A spokesman for former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty announced the candidate would begin his run for president on Monday. President Obama gave an important foreign policy speech. And those are just a few frames of the political scene.

An Icelandic volcano erupted, sending smoke some 12 miles into the sky. And the Mississippi River is still very high. The head of the International Monetary Fund was arrested and then released on bail. He will resign immediately.

I’ll spare you a recap of local events if you promise not to be caught off guard when important events happen.