Earlier this week, we wrote a story about high school student Knox Evert and other locals who participated in a statewide birding contest last week.

The contest, organized by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, allows students up to high school age to participate.

This was the last year Evert was eligible, and he participated on the winning team and won the mentoring award for his work with younger squads.

When it’s nice outside, we’re guessing there’s just about no other place he’d rather be than outdoors with a pair of binoculars in his hands and an eye on the sky.

Maybe we could all learn a lesson from him.

And no, we aren’t suggesting everybody go buy a pair of binoculars and a book breaking down species of birds. Birding is not for everyone, just like golf isn’t easy for most of us.

But everybody has their own form of birding, whether it’s chess, gardening or jogging. The point is, life gets busy, and it’s important to have some sort of hobby to make the day go by a little easier.

Psychology Today magazine says that getting a hobby can help you cope with stress and helps promote flow in our lives. Plus, hobbies just make us more interesting in general.

Evert started studying birds at a young age and participated in his first statewide contest 11 years ago.  He’s held onto that passion while also juggling schoolwork and playing football at Lafayette Christian School.

He will attend Belhaven College in Mississippi next year and will study marketing.

“I’m not planning to study something bird related,” Evert said. “I’d like to keep it more as a hobby. Keep your hobby as your hobby so your hobby doesn’t become your job.”

That’s probably good advice.

However, Evert is planning to help start a birding club at the school so that he can share his passion with others.

Perhaps we should all do remember to do the same with whatever we’re passionate about.