It is about this time of year where you will hear those individuals chosen to do the Last Word go through the general “so exams are coming up and you need to prioritise rest and sleep and get heaps of study in” we’ve all heard it.

In today's world where being busy is becoming a part of normal life it can be difficult to find time to give yourself ‘rest’ and fit everything in. This is purely because of expectations, commitments and workload. Personally, I think it is up to choice.

We are all products of our environment but we have the ability to avoid being victims of our circumstances. This relates to choice. In general, what choices you make will ultimately determine everything. At this point in time, some of us in particular have big choices to make such as the next step in life and tertiary study. When we are faced with choices to make, individuals whose choices prove to be beneficial weigh up the outcomes prior to making the choice and understand the direction in which both directions the choice could go. A prime example of this is injury in sport, if you obtain an injury and just choose to grin and bear it for a while, the severity accumulates and before you know it you have a long-term injury. The physio is then shaking their head again telling you that you “should’ve chosen to go see them months ago”. Another example is using your study time to watch Netflix instead of finishing the internal that’s due in a week.

The choice is up to you and whether you want to be a victim of the circumstances or not.

We are nearly half way through the year, recovery is important. We are heading into exams, winter sports are in full swing, it's formal season - which calls for social demands of course. It’s all happening. Lots of choices are being made and it is you and only you that will wear the outcome. Whether you choose to prioritise getting some work done instead of watching that series on Netflix or decide to be organised and put the phone down earlier to get more sleep. It’s your choice and your time that is of scarcity especially at this crucial time of the year.

Sometimes the best choice may cause a change in what you usually do and believe it or not, the ability to adapt to change is found one way or another in almost every definition for intelligence you will ever find.

We can’t expect a busy life to plan itself out, work like a puzzle or get ‘less busy’. Instead, we can make choices and changes based upon what is going to be the best and most beneficial outcome for ourselves, our health and adapt to the change. Just like what Sidney Colvin, the Oxford Dictionary and many others outlined as what an intelligent human would do.

Thank you.