My First Year at Croydon College: A Perfect Success!!!!!!!!!

After a year of hard work, studying and revision, I am absolutely pleased to tell you all that I have officially, as of today, passed my UAL Level 2 Art & Design Course with a high Merit grade.

This news comes in light of the 8 units that I have completed and passed, with a Distinction on my research, which resulted in me getting that high merit grade for the whole course overall. I am also pleased to tell you that I received two certificates from Croydon College today, one of which celebrates the outstanding achievement I’ve made in terms of my exemplary attendance, while the other celebrates my outstanding achievement I’ve made in terms of excellent achievement.

I had never thought that I would come this far in just one year, literally in the space of one year since I left school for good, I have suddenly exceeded my expectations, even without realising it. I feel more than overjoyed to have come so far in just the short space of one year alone.

Over the past 10 months, I have been making sure to keep on top of the work that I’ve been given by my course lecturers, and as well as that, I have been able to not only manage my time effectively, but I have also been able to balance the work, revision, and also the things I love to do, such as writing and publishing articles on Mother Nature, that’s including writing my own books.

Since Monday 8th September 2014, I have gone from being above average in confidence to being fully confident in my studies, as I have been able to prioritise more of my time on my college studies and everything else, as well as the ability to do other things that I initially didn’t feel comfortable with.

In the space of those 10 months, I have been making sure to keep on top of the work, though I was very lucky to have kept on top of it as quick as I did, because within the first few weeks of the course, I ended up accidentally falling behind in my studies, which has since been resolved as I had gone in on days that I was initially supposed to be off.

I must admit though, although I initially didn’t like the thought of going to college on the days that I wasn’t scheduled in for, I am absolutely glad that I did, as this has not only benefitted me in the long run, but it has also opened a lot of doors to so many opportunities, opportunities of which I didn’t think I would actually get, and I feel absolutely thankful to have studied and completed my first year at Croydon College.

Croydon College alone has to be one of the best colleges around that I have ever been to, and not only that, but Croydon College alone is also completely diverse and equal, as you get treated with the best respect you could possibly think. Everyone I know at this college are so friendly, I instantly click with them, and I have noticed that quite a lot since I started at the college on the 8th September 2014.

If you want me to be politely honest, I absolutely love this college, even though it is just my first year, I have enjoyed every single day, as I have been able to keep my friends company, I’ve been able to share laughs with everyone down the line, and I want that to continue for the last few years of secondary education that I still have left.

On the 15th April 2015, as you may recall, I went to the Victoria & Albert Museum (a.k.a. the V&A), as I went there to take a lot of photos that would not just record my visit to that museum, but it would also mean that I would record a lot of the works that were designed by a huge, huge amount of artists. There was one notable artist whose work I did take a photo of, and that was Cornelia Parker‘s “Breathless” masterpiece.

Cornelia Parker’s “Breathless” work was done in a way where you can immediately see an entirely different form of destruction, as she had taken bits of silver, especially those that may have consisted of musical instruments, and she had flattened them with a steam roller. Much of Cornelia Parker’s works can be found in loads of museums across the United Kingdom.

I must admit, when I took a few photos of the “Breathless” masterpiece by Cornelia Parker, I was extremely lucky, as I had just stepped away from the balcony where this piece was hanging up, when the left-hand side of the camera strap for my Nikon D3300 DSLR had come off, thankfully, my hands were still tightly clutched on the camera, and with some help from one of the students from my class, they had helped me to reattach the left-hand side of the strap back onto the Nikon D3300 DSLR.

Exactly one week after I started my UAL (University of Arts London) Level 2 Art & Design Course at Croydon College, I took a trip up to London to go to the National Portrait Gallery, where the two most famous pieces of Julian Opie’s works were displayed. Those two famous pieces that Julian Opie had created were of James Dyson, and Blur.

The music group, Blur, used Julian Opie’s artwork for their Greatest Hit’s album: “Blur: The Best Of”. Julian Opie is a visual artist, who is a part of the New British Sculpture movement. The painting that Julian Opie did of James Dyson, which was commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery in London, was titled: “James, Inventor.”

At a certain stage in the course, I took a trip up to the Tate Britain, which is also in London, and it featured a memorable, yet iconic piece by David Bomberg, titled: “The Mud Bath”, which was created in 1914, as an oil-on-canvas painting.

Back to the gist of the article, I have come a very long way since I started the course, and to finally finish it today, I can officially say that I am absolutely glad to have completed all of the work, my work for this course is finally done, and all of the hard work has officially paid off, thanks to my family, all of my friends, my two main role models and also some of my true friends, and also to every single one of you on WordPress, I couldn’t have done this all without you.

My determination is always going to stay at an all-time high, and I’m not preparing to slow down anytime soon, I will be making sure to keep as active as possible, and I will also make sure to keep myself in the loop, so that my time is prioritised in a much better way than how it originally was before, and that I can fit time in to write and publish articles for Mother Nature.

I have taken photos down the line since I’ve been at Croydon College, as I want to make sure that whatever photo I take, I can take that photo home with me to keep as an everlasting, long and happy memory.

A lot of happy memories have occurred and been created down the line, and I feel absolutely thankful and fortunate to know that I can do a lot of things now that I couldn’t do originally before. I have noticed down the line when it came to my college studies that my workloads were less busy, given that I had kept on top of the work, and what I feel is a massive relief and a massive weight off of my shoulders, is that I can finally keep what I’ve created, so that when it comes to the future, I can take what I’ve created with me and use it for many different uses in more ways than one in the years to come.

It’s hard to think, it was this time last year that I was relaxing, putting my feet up and working on my second book, and to turn the clock forward 365 days from 2014 to 2015, I am absolutely amazed as to what I have achieved. A lot of hard work and dedication has paid off, and I will be making sure to keep to that so that I can make sure I excel further in life.

You may have noticed about me this past year that I have been very fussy with what I’ve been designing and also creating, this is because I have been making sure to improve on my skills in design, and since I started the UAL Level 2 Art & Design Course at Croydon College, my own initial ideas and my own designs have gotten much, much better than how I had first thought.

With the work I’ve been producing, I have been making sure to fine-tune and make sure that what I create is perfect, whether it be work that I’ve been doing at Croydon College, or whether it be that I’ve been working on designing something for Mother Nature.

For those of you who are planning on going to Croydon College in the future years to come, I strongly recommend this college, this college is an all-round diverse and equal college that focuses on you being respected for who you are, and not only that, this college will do anything to make sure you can get to where you want to be in life.

For the last few years of my secondary education, I will be going on to doing the Level 3 Lens-Based Media Course, as I have my strong intentions to become a full-time photographer in the future. I love photography, and I also love writing and publishing articles on Mother Nature, and my further interest is that I love writing my own books.

Be yourself, and make sure that you get the best out of the life you have, and also, make sure your life is worth living, and not only that, make sure that you excel in life, as all of the hard work and dedication you make now will pay off in the end.

Dream big, think big, and also think of the best things that you want to do. Make sure to go for every opportunity that hits you, and if there is a fantastic opportunity that strikes, go for it!!!

Over the course of the Level 3 Lens-Based Media Course, I will be making sure to use my Nikon D3300 DSLR more frequently than before, as I will be making myself absolutely sure that I can get out a lot more than before and use my camera to take more photographs.

If needs be, I will be making sure to get out more over the course of the Level 3 Lens-Based Media Course, and not only that, but I will also be making sure to take dozens more photos over the course of 2016, and for many more years to come.

After such a fantastic year, I am finally glad to say that my first year of college is over. Although I will miss this year, I will still be able to look back on this year in the years to come, and I will make sure to do anything to make sure that my future is secured, and that my future is bright. Also, I will be making sure to keep on top of everything, and even if it means working harder than before, I will, if it means that I succeed and get further and further in life.

My final thoughts on my first year at Croydon College? I absolutely loved every second of it, and I have also loved all of the memories that have been created down the line. In the last few years of my secondary education, I will most definitely be making myself absolutely sure to create a lot more memories down the line, so that when my secondary education does officially come to an end, I will be able to look back on it all, including the memories that I have gathered, not just from Oasis Academy: Shirley Park, but also from Croydon College.

Overall, I am absolutely glad to have successfully completed my first year, and I am also absolutely glad to have passed my UAL Level 2 Art & Design Course. Roll on the Level 3 Lens-Based Media Course, and also, roll on the last few years of my secondary education. I can’t wait to create and keep a lot of happy memories over the next few years.

Alex Smithson

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