Monthly Roundup: May 2015

As May rounds off on a good note, I will take a look back on the articles I have published on Mother Nature over the course of this month.

1.5.2015 – I welcomed you all back to Mother Nature for a month that would begin on a relaxing and delightful note. As we have been getting a lot of good weather recently, which is a first in a while, the Whitsun holiday was just around the corner, despite the fact there was a bit of a chilly breeze, which I was fine with. I also announced that there would be a 6th Case Study included in my third book: “My Journey Through a Lens”, given the fact that this book had just recently crossed over the 300-page target mark.

Also on this day, I published an article that focuses on the YouTube Vlogger, Alfie Deyes. As I share my love for YouTube, I wanted to dedicate this article to Alfie Deyes who, over the past few years, has taken to YouTube to upload videos to his YouTube channels, one of which is a gaming channel, while the other two are based around his life, as well as a lot of the funniest things that he has done with his girlfriend, Zoe Sugg (a.k.a. Zoella), and their little pug, Nala, who is so cute.

7.5.2015 – On the 15th April, I took a trip up to the Victoria & Albert Museum (a.k.a. the V&A), as I went with my class to take some photos that I could use to stick into my A3 Sketchbook for my UAL Level 2 Art & Design Course, and because of the fact I took those photos, this gave me the chance to showcase my photos here, and as well as that, I had thought that this trip was a lot more interesting than the previous one, given the fact that this museum had a lot of interesting works, artefacts, and not only that, some, if not, a lot of model designs that focused on certain building elements, such as the Model of the Crystal Palace.

17.5.2015 – This day was an absolute honour for me to talk about the YouTuber, Joey Graceffa. On this day, I published a special music feature article about this YouTuber, as Joey released his music video: “Don’t Wait” to the world on the 16th May, which had instantly blown me away, given the fact that it had so much sentimental value, and also a lot of meaning to it. Just days before Joey Graceffa released his debut memoir: “In Real Life: My Journey to a Pixelated World“, he officially came out as gay to the world. After a few years of speculation from a lot of his fans, he officially announced he was gay before the release of his book. As I support him and everyone else entirely that are gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgender, I wrote this:

I support the LGBT Community entirely because for those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, I believe in equality, LGBT equality and gender equality entirely, no matter what sexuality the person is. I respect all of those who have come out and expressed their sexualities to the world, because everyone in this world deserves to be treated equally, no matter what sexuality they are, and everyone should be respected for who they are and also be treated with the full respect that they deserve. – Alex Smithson

Joey Graceffa’s music video: “Don’t Wait” is available now to watch on YouTube, and if you want to buy the song, it is now available for purchase via the iTunes Store, Google Play, and any other major music outlets that offer the song for purchase. If you want to watch the music video, please make sure to head to the “Related Articles” section below to view the article, or, if you want to get to the video a lot quicker, it can be found on the sidebar under “YouTube Music Favourites“.

31.5.2015 – As it was almost a year since I left school for good, I wanted to take a look back on yesteryear, given that my nostalgia for yesteryear has been really strong. I chose the colours, Purple & Green, as they are how I sense nostalgia, as those two colours combined symbolise my own nostalgic views with reality.

Until then, thanks so much to all of you for a fantastic month, and I’ll see you all in June!!!

Alex Smithson

Related articles

• The Victoria & Albert Museum | Tuesday 14th April 2015 | Croydon College
• Don’t Wait / Joey Graceffa / Special Music Feature

The Nostalgia of Yesteryear.

It’s very hard to believe, it was almost one year ago that I finished school, the time just flies by like a shot. If you want me to be honest, I knew my time at primary school had gone quick, but for 5 years to come and go in a flash, it doesn’t feel like I left school.

Almost one year ago, I started my UAL Level 2 Art & Design Course at Croydon College, and in that short space of time, between September & now, it’s just gone like a blip, but the good thing is, I’ve been accepted onto the Level 3 Lens-Based Media Course for September, just weeks before I finish this course. By being accepted on to this course before I even finish the course I am currently on, this will give me the chance to make my photographical skills much better than before.

In all honesty, I hate the thought of the time flying so fast, because before you know it, you’ll get to a certain age and wonder where all of that time went. I just find it very hard to believe that the time flies so fast, but, like they say, time flies when you’re having fun.

In my eyes, I always believe that it’s good to make the most of the time that you’ve got on this mortal coil of a planet that we call Earth, because it’s wise to make the most of the time you’ve got now, and make sure to make something good out of it, because it will never come around ever again.

What I find very hard to believe is how quick the time goes, because you don’t realise just how quick it goes until you’ve finished your primary and secondary school years, and it’s when you move on to the last two years of your secondary education for college that you begin to realise: “Where has 16 years of my life gone?” Although I sometimes think that, I’ve realised that I want to make the most of the time that I still have whilst I’m still in secondary education.

College has been great this past year, and I won’t lie to you, I have enjoyed college. As I prepare to take on the two-year Level 3 Lens-Based Media Course, which begins in September, this will give me the chance to prepare for the kind of materials I am going to need for the course, which will run until 2017.

Croydon College has an extremely large range of opportunities in store, and it is also a fantastic college, because whatever course you choose to take on at this college, they give you all of the help and support that you feel you may need, and the staff at this college are very supportive, and they would do anything to make sure that you get to go in the right direction that you want to go in for the future.

There is one thing I always believe in, and that is to be yourself, because being yourself means that you get to take full control of the things that you want to do in life, and not be controlled by those who have their own lives to worry about. Be yourself and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something that you can’t do something that you want to do. If you want to do something that could benefit your chances of success, go for it. Don’t let anyone hold you back, in fact, don’t let anyone control your life. Control your own life in the style that you want, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Control your own life in the way that you want, but for all of the right reasons.

With Mother Nature coming up to its 2-Year Anniversary on the 6th June 2015, it is absolutely fantastic to know that Mother Nature has gotten stronger in just the short space of two years. It was also around this time last year that I started work on my second book: “A Year in Photography“, which is available for free download under “Free Books“. This was a rather dangerous risk for me to take though, considering the fact that I had my exams to worry about, four of which I passed, with the final result being that I got 6 GCSEs out of the four exams I managed to pass.

With my third book: “My Journey Through a Lens” being almost ready for release, this book is set to be the loftiest book I have ever produced, with this book being expected to cross over the 400-page mark. In turn, I have worked on this book throughout almost the whole entirety of my UAL Level 2 Art & Design Course, as I have balanced my coursework, this website, and also my work on this third book effectively.

With my 17th birthday coming up shortly, which has come around awfully quick due to how much of a busy year I’ve had, I have got some bits and pieces of artwork to submit & prepare beforehand, before all of my Final Major Project work goes on show privately, and to the public. Hopefully, this time around, I won’t feel as stressed as I did last year after I finished my exams. I have found this year to be less stressful, given the fact I’ve only been doing 4 subjects at Croydon College, which are Art & Design, English, Maths and Enrichment.

Sacrifices have been made down the line, and although I may have not been happy to make sacrifices for certain things initially, I am glad to have made those sacrifices, as they have helped me to become far better at the things I can now do.

Before I made those sacrifices, I admit, I used to be laid-back, and I would leave a lot of my work to the last minute, which would make me panic the night before, but after making those sacrifices, I have been able to keep on top of my work, I have also been able to find the time to write and publish articles on Mother Nature, and as well as that, I have been able to work on this third book, which is out soon.

In life, we all have to make sacrifices in order to become better at certain things we weren’t better at before, and by making sacrifices, this will make us all become stronger in ourselves, all of us will also believe in ourselves more for the sacrifices we’ve made, and at the end, all of the hard work and effort will pay off. Make sacrifices to make ends meet, and also make sacrifices so that all of the hard work and effort you’ve made pays dividends.

The colours I’ve used, which are Purple & Green, are how I sense nostalgia, as those two colours combined symbolise my own nostalgic views with reality.

If you have nostalgic views with reality that focus back to yesteryear, please feel free to comment below.

Alex Smithson

Related articles

• The Victoria & Albert Museum | Tuesday 14th April 2015 | Croydon College