The title of this column is occasionally ironic to me. Perspective is something supposedly best gained with age, from having a unique vantage point. I’ve been alive almost 17 years, which in the grand scheme of things isn’t all that much.

But even a callow, inexperienced youth such as myself can tell that what’s going down in Europe is enormous. The United Kingdom’s recent referendum, which marked the first time a country has ever chosen to leave the European Union, is one of those events that serves as a stark reminder that history never stops happening. Even just hovering on the periphery, it’s clear that this is going to be a year for the textbooks.

Not two weeks ago, the supporters of the “leave” movement of the UK declared the referendum a bid for independence. And now, coincidentally, our own country is loudly celebrating the same. While we’re on the subject of history, it’s hard not to draw contrasts between the two supposedly similar events.

The most obvious difference would be that “independence” wasn’t achieved through a war, but given that the EU was formed to prevent just that and is now in as risky a position as it’s ever held, perhaps a “yet” should be added.

Related to the above – the margins of “leave” to “remain” votes are noticeably smaller than those of the American Revolution. The final tally was somewhere around 50 percent to 48 percent, a majority that would have had a difficult time in anything other than a democratic process.

Oh, and perhaps the most ironic difference – the same country this and dozens of other countries fought to gain independence from is now the one deciding it’s been too involved in the world.

Overall, most differences in the situations boil down to the world is very different now.

In terms of everything from communication to transportation, the world has drastically shifted in the past 240 years. Even without having been around to see those two centuries go by, I can tell that.

And in that time, the world has gotten a heck of a lot smaller.

Unless all our maps are really, really off, there aren’t any more mysterious continents. Information can travel from one point on the globe to another in seconds. When people lose their homes, like millions now have, there are only so many places they can go, and all of those are already inhabited.

The world is smaller, and we as a species – regardless of country, nationality, or religion – are going to be forced to come together like never before. Without ways to talk to each other, or communicate, or trade and negotiate, or travel, we’re in a lot of trouble.

Or at least that’s my perspective.

— Nina Collay is a junior at Thornton Academy who can frequently be found listening to music, reading, wrestling with a heavy cello case, or poking at the keyboard of an uncooperative laptop.