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Hey Woman! I am so proud to be celebrating this day with you! Are you wondering what awe are celebrating? We are celebrating the International Women’s Day! Whether you are 5 or 105, if you are a woman, it is time to celebrate You!
This post was initiated by the great Style Collective community founder, Annie Spano @annie_spano The Style Collective sisters were asked to answer the following questions.
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Introduce yourself, your blog, and tell us why you started it
I am Nat. I’ve lived in a few countries, visited a few more and have now made beautiful British Columbia, Canada, my home. I speak three languages, and English is not my first language; I work full-time, take classes (never stop learning ;)), am a mom to two boys, a wife of the most loving and supporting husband, and simply a lucky woman.
I started this blog right before New Year’s eve 2019, as I decided to get back to a more active life physically and take courses to become a certified personal trainer. In 2015, I switched to a vegan lifestyle and completed my personal training certification in 2019. I have always been somewhat active, but my weight has climbed up after the second child. The decision to become a personal trainer was mainly for myself, as I wanted to learn more about how our bodies function and how to help myself to slow down ageing. Is it possible? I’m sure it is!
I am also a skincare addict and love trying new products and procedures. I only use vegan and cruelty-free products and love sharing my favourite beauty finds with my readers here and on my Instagram.
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What is your personal mission statement?
To inspire a healthy life of beauty and kindness through active plant-based living and Never Give Up!
No matter how difficult it is at times and what you are going through, Never Ever let life put you down! You have been a chance to live this life, and you need to live it each and every day.
If you are feeling like you don’t have anyone by your side, look around and check if there is someone who needs your support. Yes, you got that right, don’t look for someone to help you but whether there is someone you can help to.
I lost 4 very close family members, including my mom and my grandparents in 2 years. At that moment I thought life was very unfair. But my husband and my kid needed me there. And I could not give up on me.
Years after, my second baby had to have heart surgery, and once again it felt like life was unfair. But we were able to go through all that and put our lives together. I am sharing more about that time in my post here.
I became vegan overnight and have never looked back! Being vegan is not hard but it is so rewarding! Choosing cruelty-free products is the one of the easiest things you can do to help animals!
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What are some big goals that you’ve accomplished?
If I only look into the last couple of years, I finally got my diploma and successfully completed my personal trainer certification. I am working towards the plant-based nutrition certification and the wellness coach certification. Hopefully, I will have them both completed by summer this year.
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What does International Women’s Day mean to you?
I was born in one of the former Soviet Union republics. International Women’s Day was a statutory holiday there, and it was one of the favourite holidays for all there. We learned about women who had accomplished various achievements, including women astronauts, pilots, and such.
There are still places on this planet where women are not allowed to drive or walk on the street without being accompanied by a man. Women are not allowed to go to school or are supposed to do all the hard labour. While I think it is fine if a woman decides not to go to school or work or whatever, it is not fine if that is decided for her and she has no choice.
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What does being a member of Style Collective mean to you?
Community! I’ve met incredible women thanks to the SC community! Women who run their own businesses. Women who are not afraid to take a risk and who love doing what they are doing!
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Tell us three fun facts about you and let’s celebrate the fearless woman that you are!
- I almost got arrested and was asked to pay a bribe when I traveled abroad years ago. I confronted the police officers and asked them to take me to the police station, as they had no reason for the arrest, and of course, I didn’t want to pay the bribe.
- After all those unfortunate events in my life, I am still the most optimistic person and believe in myself, my family and people. Life is beautiful and we need to cherish each and every moment of it.
- As I said, I speak 3 languages. However, sometimes I know the words in one of them and not the other. I do not translate the sentences in my mind and sometimes forget the right words in my first language (which is Russian). I have a background in Linguistics and I really liked to learn about how the bilingual and multilingual brains work. The human brain is so fascinating!
So, here you have it 🙂
Here’s to you, the Fabulous Woman!
Happy International Women’s Day!
We, women, have accomplished a lot so far. We fly to space, we invent and build, and we defend and heal.
But most importantly we finally allow ourselves to just be ourselves. We can be whatever we want to be.
We don’t need anybody’s approval for that. Because we are Women.
Let me know in the comments below how you celebrate this day and what you are doing for yourself today 🙂 Also, you would make me so happy if you follow me on Instagram or sign-up for my newsletter! I only send awesome stuff to my subscribers!
With Love,
Your Nat
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