Welcome to March!

Welcome to March on Mother Nature! As you can see, I have decided to go retro with the article image and do it up in the inspired style of Sonic Mania, considering that Sonic Mania is set to be released within the next few months. There is news just around the corner surrounding Sonic Mania and Project Sonic 2017, which I am excited about and I honestly cannot wait to get my hands on Sonic Mania when it comes out. If Project Sonic 2017 gets an official title and if there’s all-new gameplay featuring both Classic Sonic & Modern Sonic, then I shall consider the possibility of buying the Project Sonic 2017 if it lives up to the hype. I know SEGA & Christian Whitehead both have one heck of a great year ahead so I am pretty sure they will exceed our expectations any which way.

The next few weeks are going to be much busier considering my Summative Assessment deadline for the Self-Directed Curiosity Project is right near the end of this month, so I will be making sure to work my socks off as I am so determined to pass and bump last year’s grade up to a Merit or Distinction at least. Also, I will be working harder than usual over the course of the next few weeks as I have a GCSE English Speaking & Listening Assessment coming up which I am currently preparing for, so I hope it goes well, so fingers crossed! Meanwhile, I will be making sure to put all of the hard work in with my GCSE Maths coursework as I seriously want to pass this time around.

Spring is ready to embrace its beautiful side and with the clocks going forward towards the end of the month, it is safe to say that Mother Nature will blossom with vibrant colours and displays. Not only that, but with the temperature of the weather slowly going back to normal, I cannot wait to enjoy the lovely Spring weather once again. The clocks are set to go forward as part of Daylight Saving Time on Sunday 26th March 2017 at 1:00 AM so I thought it would be wise to let you all know in advance so you know exactly when the clocks go forward.

I should warn you as I read something a short while back for when the clocks went back that if you have any devices with Airplane Mode switched on, such as an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple Watch and any Android devices and smartwatches, then it’s recommended that Airplane Mode must be switched off very briefly in order for every device’s clock to go back or forward an hour. I am prepared for the clocks to go forward so to speak, but even so, why waste time when you make the most of it by making the best out of it?

If I am able to find the free time over the next few weeks, I may consider doing some drawings that I can publish on here, or if I head out to certain places in and around London over the next few weeks to photograph anything nature-based for my coursework, then I will make sure to publish any photography work I produce on this website.

Until then, Welcome to March!

Alex Smithson

Welcome to February!

Welcome to February on Mother Nature! As this month is expected to be just as busy as last month, it’s safe to say this month will be a lot busier considering I have a mock exam just around the corner, but also because I will be making sure to get out more and make use of the free time I have on my days off to photograph nature-based places for my Self-Directed Curiosity Project.

I should note I will be publishing less frequently considering I have a lot of revision and coursework to do, but also because I will be dedicating a whole lot more of my time to my studies, as I’ve only got the last few months of my education to think about, so I will be making sure to make use of the free time to head out to places that I can photograph for my coursework and publish any collections I can create on this website so that I can at least say I’ve worked hard and gone the extra mile to showcase my passion for photography, as well as nature and other core areas of photography.

January sure flew by real fast. I hadn’t realised how busy the beginning of 2017 would be, but I am pleased to say I have worked hard and done the best I can in the space of the first month of this year. February will be no different because I am used to being busy and I would rather work hard and achieve the best I can and also work on publishing articles for Mother Nature as I love to stay active. Inactivity and me simply don’t go together unless I decide to take a break and relax and recuperate, but still, I love to keep as active as possible so that I can have the energy to balance my coursework, revision and publishing articles for this website effectively.

Still, I will be making sure to dedicate more of my time to my studies, but I will try to publish articles here and there when I can find the free time.

Until then, welcome to February!

Alex Smithson

Life From My Own Perspective. Out Now!

After almost 6 months, Life From My Own Perspective is officially out now! This comes after such a long while, considering the third book, My Journey Through a Lens, was released on the 4th July 2015 (Independence Day). I was initially supposed to start working on this book at the beginning of 2016, but because of coursework and other personal problems in mind, that’s why I stopped working on the book until after I finished the first year of my two-year film and photography course.

This book contains most, if not a lot of the topics I covered on Mother Nature over the course of 2016, but it also focuses on moments that affected me over the course of 2016, so I can guarantee this book will really prove to be an eye-opener for all of you.

This book is a whole lot bigger than the third book, as it contains more than 500+ pages, including some photographs that I have included at the end of the book which show off the best moments of 2016. Also, if you missed out on some of the coverage for the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games, don’t worry because I have added the coverage to this book as well, so that you’ll be able to catch up on any of the coverage that you may have missed during the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

To download your copy of my fourth book, Life From My Own Perspective, please head to the Free Books column located near the bottom of the sidebar. I can guarantee this will be a book worth reading and I’m pleased to say it’s finally available for all of you to read.

Enjoy!

Alex Smithson

Life From My Own Perspective. Out Soon!!!

Following the recent news of the fourth book that I mentioned a short while back, I am pleased to tell you all that Book #4 is almost completed.

Containing over 100+ pages, this book features most of the topics I have published on Mother Nature, including a how-to guide, and quite possibly the drawings I have produced over the past few months.

Although this book is expected to be a whole lot smaller than the third, I have made sure that it is jam-packed with a huge amount of information where possible, and with regards to the sizing of the fonts, I have made sure to size them as best as possible so that they fit to the very end of each page, so that there will be no empty lined spaces while you read through the book.

As well as the topics, I’ve included some articles that I published on Mother Nature to inspire you all in this fourth book, so that you will be able to read them anytime you want and feel inspired for each and every single day.

I am strongly considering adding some photos to the end of the book once the contents page is full, so this will mean that I will add some of the photos I’ve taken over the past year to the end of this book, so that this book is like a documentation of photos and drawings, so that it’s more than just a book.

As always, the book will be free once released and will also join the Free Books column, to which the book will be available for free download via a Dropbox link, which you’ll be taken to directly from the book’s front cover image once it’s ready.

I will be announcing the release date as soon as the book is finished, so make sure to keep your eyes peeled to Mother Nature for when the news of Book #4 is finally announced.

I hope that you’re just as excited as I am about Book #4 and if you are, please feel free to submit feedback below and also feel free to share this news with your friends, your family and everyone else you know.

Alex Smithson

Tranquility & Euphoria

We all experience certain moments of tranquility and euphoria at certain stages in our  lives, but there’s always one question that needs to be answered. What’s so good about tranquility and euphoria?

What is so good about tranquility and euphoria is that they both connect and merge together very well, as tranquility can be recognised from certain angles; peaceful, tranquil, quiet. Euphoria, on the other hand, can be recognised from other certain angles; happiness, excitement and paradise. Having a mixture of both can create a sense of joy and happiness which can be found to be overwhelming at the best of times.

At certain stages in my life, I have experienced senses of tranquility and euphoria, and it’s great how both tranquility and euphoria connect at the best of times. For instance, when you study hard, like I have been over this past year, you create for yourself the senses of tranquility and euphoria, as you suddenly find that you have a massive bag of free time that you didn’t use to have before.

Life is better when both tranquility and euphoria are involved, as you can enjoy a relaxing and peaceful life without needing to worry about what isn’t important.

Overall, I love the thought of tranquility and euphoria, but at the same time, both of those come at times when you’re hanging out with a group of friends and the same can happen for both especially when you’re around your family.

If you liked this article based on tranquility and euphoria, then please feel free to submit feedback.

All feedback is much appreciated.

Alex Smithson

Success: How Good Does it Feel to Achieve Something?

When it comes to success, we all love to share our joys and excitement of succeeding at something that we have worked so hard for, but just how good does it feel to achieve success?

To me, it feels good to achieve success, as I always like to work as hard as possible to make sure that work is completed ahead of a deadline, so that I can stand more of a chance of completing other pieces of work quicker.

With success comes a lot of free time, and to get that free time, I always like to make sure I can get something done as soon as I’m given something to complete, as I hate to leave everything to chance.

In the past, I used to have the knack of procrastinating in my work, and everytime I procrastinated when it came to my studies, I used to become stress on a near-frequent basis as I would leave work to the last minute and cause myself a lot of untold stress as a result.

Procrastination is something that I use to have, but now I don’t, as I believe in completing anything work-wise that is given to me the second I am handed any pieces of work.

I have noticed that because of the fact I have completed all of my work ahead of each and every deadline, I’ve noticed that I have more free time on my hands to do my own thing, and I love the fact that I have a lot more of free time on my hands now than I did before, and it feels good to achieve success everytime I complete something early.

I hate the thought of not doing anything, as I get bored easily and it puts a drain on my energy, but I love the thought of keeping myself occupied with something as I can keep myself as active as possible with whatever I do.

I love writing and publishing articles, as writing articles for Mother Nature is like a job for me, as I like to write and publish as and when I can, and it feels so good to achieve success and also keep active.

So when it comes to success, how good does it really feel for you to achieve something that you have worked hard on? Please feel free to submit feedback. All feedback is much appreciated.

Alex Smithson

The Two-Week Holiday: How Was Yours?

I’ve had two very productive weeks, which I’ve absolutely loved, as I’ve been publishing more articles than what I would usually publish in one month alone, and I even achieved something as a result of publishing so many articles, I managed to publish more than 18 articles in just one week alone, and not just that, but I’ve been finding that I’ve been far more productive considering I’ve had absolutely no work to do, and with tons of free time available.

I’ve loved the fact that these two weeks have dragged on because with the speed of time slowing down over the course of the past two weeks, it’s helped me to keep being more productive, with the ability of publishing 2-3 articles, if not up to 4, and I feel pleased to have had so much energy to produce that many in one week. I didn’t think I would be able to produce that many articles in one week.

Over the course of the two weeks that I’ve been producing these articles, I’ve been coming up with new ideas, and not only that, but I felt that doing the article about whether protective headgear should be worn at all times in boxing was the article that I felt was close to my heart, as I wanted to express my feelings for why protective headgear should be worn in boxing as well as the benefits of how it can help both sexes reduce their chances of injury.

It feels so good that I’ve kept as productive as possible, as I’ve been able to dedicate more of my own free time to writing and publishing more articles for Mother Nature, as well as being able to publish these articles at certain times during each day.

I feel more relaxed than ever now and I feel so relieved I’ve kept as active as possible with publishing articles on Mother Nature, as I’ve made sure all of you are kept up-to-date as much as possible.

How was your two-week holiday? I would love to know how your two-week holiday went. Please feel free to submit feedback. All feedback is much appreciated.

Alex Smithson

Related articles

• Welcome to March!!!!!!!!!!

Broaden Your Horizons With All-New Ideas. Here’s How.

We all have ways of being able to come up with a range of new ideas, but it’s the kind of ideas that we come up with that can depend on how we bring something to fruition.

For the most recently published articles that I’ve done within the first few days of this month, you may have noticed that I’ve published more in the last few days than what I would be able to publish in one month alone. This is because I’ve been making sure to come up with all new ideas planned for the following day, as I’ve been using a lot of the free time I’ve got over the two-week holiday to produce more articles, given that I have absolutely no work to do until I go back to college next week.

Coming up with new ideas, whether it would be to do with something that makes the world a better place, or whether it would be to do with something that helps us get around in the world, coming up with fresh, new ideas can help us to develop something good into something far better than what we first imagine.

An idea is like a concept, and that concept can be produced with fresh ideas that bring it together.

Here’s my 5-Step Guide on how you can broaden your horizons with all-new ideas:

1. Refer to what you’ve already created and build on some new ideas based on what you’ve already created, so that you can create something new.
2. Come up with a concept that can support your new ideas as to how you want to produce something.
3. Once you have the concept in mind following the new ideas you have come up with, make sure to bring them to life by developing that concept either on paper, or in a software program, such as Microsoft PowerPoint.
4. If you want to improve the concept you had in mind initially, make sure to develop it further until you have a final concept that you can work from.
5. Once that final concept is ready, put all those new ideas, including your final concept into motion.

Once I publish any articles, I like to make sure to use any new ideas, including any unused ideas from the previous articles to put them into something new. It’s a bit like my way of recycling the unused ideas and new ideas and putting them together again, but this time in a new form. Call it like a form of reinvention, you take what you didn’t use before and you reimagine it into something completely new, but something completely different, so that no two things are the same.

Hoping this little 5-step guide helps :-).

If you liked my guide and if it’s helped you to reinvent and reuse any ideas you didn’t use before, then please feel free to submit feedback. All feedback is much appreciated.

Alex Smithson

Welcome to August!!! A Relaxing, Peaceful & Joyous Month Awaits!!!

Welcome to August on Mother Nature!!! With this month being set to be the most relaxing month, despite the scorching hot weather that will be impacting the UK soon, it’s safe to say that this month will be full of joy and relaxation, given just how lovely the weather has been so far.

In light of recent events however, I will be making a tribute article soon to pay my respects to the Formula 1 Racer, Jules Bianchi, who recently passed away on the 17th July 2015, coming just 9 months after a racing accident that left him with severe head injuries.

I will be making sure to make the most of the free time I still have before I re-enrol for my second year at Croydon College, as I want to make sure that I can get as many articles published on Mother Nature before I go back to college next month.

It’s hard to believe how this past year has gone so fast, it’s really scary, don’t you think? Though, truth be told, they always say that time flies when you’re having fun, working hard and enjoying yourself, and having laughs with many of those that you know. The time element has gone way too fast for my liking, though I just hope that the time element slows down for now.

You might have heard in the past 24 hours about everyone installing Windows 10 on their computers, well, in almost the past 72 hours, Microsoft have managed to reach 14 million downloads, due to unprecedented demand of those, like myself, who have reserved and downloaded the free copy of Windows 10, courtesy of Microsoft Corporation.

I must admit, I prefer Microsoft Edge over Google Chrome & Mozilla Firefox, because I’ve been using the all-new browser since Wednesday, and it is actually better than the semi-active Internet Explorer, which has always been slow. Give credit where it’s due, Internet Explorer had a good time whenever I used to use it, but it’s journey, as we all know it, has reached the end. Microsoft Edge…Welcome!!! We need you.

Moving on from the subject, with this month being set to be a relaxing, peaceful and joyous month ahead, I can’t wait to get some articles published on Mother Nature for all of you to read.

Until then, welcome to August on Mother Nature!!! A Relaxing, Peaceful & Joyous month awaits!!!

Alex Smithson

My Journey Through a Lens: Out Now!!!

After just 9 months of hard work, effort and designing, My Journey Through a Lens is finally available, starting from today. With this book being over 400+ pages long, this book is indeed the largest book I have ever made, which follows up from my previous book: “A Year in Photography”, which was released last September.

As this book has pieced together bit-by-bit like a puzzle for the past 9 months, I have talked about certain famous icons, such as Henry VIII, Queen Victoria, Guy Fawkes, Mary | Queen of Scots, Winston Churchill and John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and as well as that, I have also talked about the former president, Nelson Mandela.

In this book, I have also talked about our Croydon lad, Ben Haenow, who was crowned the winner of the X Factor 2014, and not only that, but I have also talked about the Queen of Pop, Madonna, who has been given 3 special mentions in terms of her recently released album, Rebel Heart (released on Monday 9th March 2015), along with her two recently released videos that followed on from her “Living for Love” video, Ghosttown and Bitch I’m Madonna.

There is so much in this book that I have offered, and I feel absolutely glad to have worked hard on this book, as it has given me the strength to continue writing not just for Mother Nature, but also the strength to write a 4th. Now that this book is finally out in the open, I will begin working on Book #4 soon, as I will be making sure to get this third book printed for my own use via the regular printing service, DoxDirect.

It was a lot of effort to work on this book, despite my college studies over the past year, which I have since finished and passed as well, but the most important thing is that I have taken all of the time that I need to design this book, and also format the layout of the pages, so that everything I’ve talked about has pieced together nicely.

I have also dedicated this book to a small number of people, which you’ll see on the back cover of the book, as I have dedicated this book to Ajay Mody, who sadly passed away on the 10th August 2014 after a short illness. I have also dedicated this book to the former Loose Women panellist, Lynda Bellingham, who had also sadly passed away on the 19th October 2014 from Colon Cancer. I have officially dedicated this book to the cricket player, Phillip Hughes, who had sadly passed away on the 27th November 2014, after a sudden accident.

Also, in light of this book, I have dedicated this book to a full-time working regular blogger, and that is Vijay Shah of the Half-Eaten Mind. This book is dedicated to Vijay, as he has guided me “along the way since I began my blogging journey, and is currently updating the Half-Eaten Mind with all new information”. He is a regular blogger who likes to study and keep people up-to-date on the things that he feels may interest everyone else, for example, Vijay recently studied Virtual Vexillology, which was split over 6 articles. If you’re wondering what vexillology is, vexillology is the studying of flags. If you want to at any time, please feel free to head to Vijay’s blog/website: “Half-Eaten Mind: News & Views from a Partially Digested Brain.“

To round the book off on a high note, I have decided to celebrate and dedicate this book to our Croydon lad, Ben Haenow, who was crowned the winner of the X Factor 2014, with his debut single: “Something I Need (Originally released by OneRepublic) [Released by Ben in December]” going straight to Number 1. We are absolutely proud of you Ben Haenow!!! Proud to be a Croydonian!!! We will and shall always love you Ben!!!!!!!!!

If you want to download this book now, it can be found in the “Free Books” section on this website.

Enjoy :-)!!!!!!!!!

Alex Smithson