This article was first published in The Next Great Generation on April 5th, 2012.

While some less-than-classy Instagram fans vent about how the availability of the app to Android users will ruin the quality of their established community, I think to myself, it was about time to make my favorite app accessible to all.

Don’t get me wrong, I also believe that the content shared on Instagram is gold and as an addicted Toronto-based Iger, I believe that the communities created by the app is one of the most valuable currently active in the space. However, most of us are forgetting to look at this initiative as a very strategic move, not to mention the myths related to the threat that Android users represent to the homogenous community of iOS users.

Android Devices and the User Experience

One of the most popular arguments amongst iPhone users who are against Instagram for Android is that the rival devices will be adding low quality images to the community. Being an Apple user for years now, I confess that I started to have second thoughts about my loyalty to Jobs’ brainchild when I came across the sleek HTC One X 8 Megapixel camera. We are all drinking the Kool-aid, but it’s getting harder to ignore that Android devices are catching up with market demands faster than Apple can respond.

Apple fans may argue that the HTC One X is the top of line when it comes to Android devices and don’t really reflect the average quality of most devices out there. Fair enough, you have a point! However, when it comes to artistic expression, rudimentary technology can actually become the artist’s signature. Who am I to judge in a time when we are all producing and sharing content?

A Growing Community

As a business decision, the Instagram team had nothing else to do but enter the biggest mobile market. According to recent Comscore data, Google’s Android hit 50.1% share of the U.S. market last February and is not showing signs of slowing down.Research conducted by the website Business Insider last year concluded that Android users tend to be more loyal to the operating system than iOS users. According to the study, Android users would never buy an iPhone because they “hate Apple,” while iPhone users would switch to an Android device if it was better than the iPhone (guilty!)

When it comes to a community-based app like Instagram, growing its audience is crucial to the product’s survival. Nearly half a million people shared their email addresses with the company hoping to be notified early about the Android release after Instagram’s co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger announced the Android version of the app at SXSW. So far, the app has been rated by over 79,000 people on Google Play and is signing up more than 2,000 new users per minute.

Will the App Store be the Same After That?

Another important variable that has been ignored by most Apple fans is the impact that the Instagram for Android app will have on other apps used to develop pictures and/or use the Instagram API to offer additional services. Apps such as Camera Plusand PicFrame would be ignoring a great opportunity if their developers decide to stick with the iOS market. Now that Instagram have done it, it makes it okay for everybody else who is not a bank or the government to explore both markets and still be cool.

And for those skeptical iPhone users questioning the quality of Android Instagram pictures, take a look for yourself.

In your opinion, which other popular iPhone app will launch an Android version soon? Will the “Android user invasion” scare you away from the Instagram community? Let us know in the comments below!

However, I have a world of great pictures to share with you. From Primetime in Ottawa to the arrival of the Canadian citizenship study guide, March awarded me with some incredible moments. Enjoy!

 What made March 2012 special for you? You can share your pictures with me on our Facebook page or email it to me at info [at] madameheringer dot com.

When I first read about an American ex-pat living in Rio called Don Blanquito in The New York Times, I thought he was far from being the bravest gringo living in my hometown. He wouldn’t be the first to appropriate from my culture and repackage it for international consumption. While I was reading the article, I came up with a list of labels wrapped in pre-conceived concepts. However, I am still a journalist at heart and when I decided to present a paper on Carioca Funk at the cross-cultural communication  class, Alex Cutler (Blanquito’s real name) seemed to be the perfect subject to spice up the discussion that I was trying to create.

It turns out that Cutler is a very nice guy. He replied to my email in a matter of hours and was very cool about helping a desperate MA student out. Knowing Rio well, I can imagine that entering the Carioca Funk scene was no easy task and kudos to Cutler for gaining the respect of a the locals. The interview published below is an edited version of last month’s email exchange between Cutler and I. Some of the answers can sound surprising to some readers, however, his sincere approach only shows that we ex-pats are constantly trying to make sense of a life divide by two different, but complementing cultures.

Days #69 – 71: The final days of #30DaysTo30 involved a whole lot of thinking about what I want the next 30 years to look like. My excitement with the start of this new decade is overwhelming sometimes. I know that I’ve talked a lot about how much more confident and mature the last decade has made me, and I know that you’re probably tired of listening to me talk about how incredible my first 30 years were. But there is something about this new decade that makes me feel really good about life. For some reason, I feel that things are just getting started and I finally have way more reasons to enjoy life and give more to the world. As one of my favourite poets, Renato Russo, says “when Saturn returned, I decided to live.” So here are the next 30 big things that I’ll be focusing on in the next 30 years:

# 1 Write a book

I know that everybody is writing a book these days, however, considering that in the past semester I wrote over 30,000 words just in research, I think I can come up with something interesting and sellable in the next three decades. If I come up with an interesting subject and keep the 250 word per day writing pace, I will probably have written 15 books before I turn 60. However, since the goal is to write a book, I think I have enough time to work on it!

Do you have a suggestion for an interesting topic? 

#2 Teach 

One great thing  about grad school is that you get to interact with great professors and learn more about your own teaching style. Thanks to my amazing supervisor Laurie Petrou, I had the opportunity to lecture to two different groups this year and I loved it! After 30 years of insane admiration for pop culture and technology, I know that I have lots to teach and learn from someone who is planning on starting a career in communications.

#3 Mentor

It goes without saying, but I love assisting my colleagues, friends and younger professionals in reaching their goals. Mentoring will be definitely continue to be a part of my professional and personal life in the coming years. It will also be my way to give back to the community after being mentored by so many inspiring Canadians in the past five years.

#4 Give back to my community

I don’t know how or when, but I want to help Toronto grow and become a better place to live at some point. Thoughts?

# 5 Live in Paris

Since Mr. Ames and I watched Midnight in Paris, we’ve been talking about how much we’d like to live in the city of lights. We have 30 years to figure that out, but it’s going to happen at some point!

#6 Climb Mt. Everest

(I mean, get to the base camp with Mr. Ames)

Yes, that’s a big surprise even for me, but Mr. Ames told me that he really wants to trek to the base camp of Mt. Everest someday. Since he moved all the way from Vancouver to Toronto to support me, I’ll be there with him in return!

#7 Visit the Amazon

I can’t go to Mt. Everest and miss out on my home country’s most important treasure. One day, it will happen!

#8 Volunteer Abroad

Build something to help someone who will make something big in the future without expecting any return on my investment. That in itself is already a big goal!

#9 Travel across Canada

Another family ambition: Rent a car, load it up with some clothes and the dog and drive across Canada without an arrival date, stopping at every single little town that looks interesting and taking all the pictures that we need!

#10 Learn to sail

I’ve never been in a sail boat. I have no idea of how to tie a knot…

#11 Sail around the world

After completion of #10!

#12 Speak about my ideas and experience

I will be speaking more about my research, ideas and experience in the coming decades. Netculture, Primetime in Ottawa and PodCamp Toronto were just the beginning of this journey.

#13 Enjoy cooking

Self-explanatory…

#14 Learn to cook

It’s a shame! I’m a 30-year-old woman who hates cooking and could burn water if left unattended. I hope I am able to deal with that issue in the coming decades, but I don’t have a lot of hope that it will actually work out for me!

#15 Be Healthy

I’ve spend the last 30 years fuelling my body with sugar and carbs, in addition to living a fairly sedentary lifestyle. Since I don’t want to die young nor develop cancer, the plan for the next 30 years is to work out and live a healthy life.

#16 Be patient

and keep a healthy pace while achieving my goals…

#18 Spend more time with family and friends

Now that we live far away from most of our family and friends, it needs to be a priority in our lives. It’s doable and rewarding though…

#19 Travel to Africa

#20 Live in Asia 

Japan and China are the top choices, but I’d be open to live in other countries though. I am mostly looking to learn more from a culture that is completely different from what I know.

#21 Knit a sweater

It’s sounds silly after listing 20 grand things up to now, however, I’ve never dedicated myself to a kniting project that would take more than 10 hours to complete. A sweater is a big challenge and will become a major milestone if I ever finish one!

#22 Travel with my mom

Mama Heringer often comes to Canada to visit, but we never had time to go on a mother-daughter trip. I definitely want to take her somewhere in the next few years…

#23 Learn to code

I mean really coding, not the simple HTML language that I know and often use to fix things. I mean coding, coding!

#24 Speak French again

It’s lost in my brain somewhere… I just need to reconnect the neurons!

#25 Keep blogging, tweeting, being social

I know I’ll never be one of those grannys that have no idea of what social media means. I am sure I’ll be one of those old ladies who hacks their grandchildren’s social media accounts to check if they’re bullying anyone, being bullied or behaving like little brats online.

#26 Know more about wine and cheeses

Mr. Ames needs a break from ordering my wine and figuring out what I like. A culinary trip throughout France is definitely the best way to learn more about my own taste!

#27 Run a marathon

Since Mr. Ames has been calling me cougar in training, I think that I should start training for a marathon and learn to enjoy running.

#28 Learn to swim

I am not the only immigrant that will drown if the ocean takes over the world’s major cities, but I want to learn to swim and will do it in the coming decades.

#29 Be happy

… always!

#30 Start something big!

I know that life will surprise me in the coming years, so I am leaving this one open for the next really big thing that will happen before I turn 60!

Days #65-68: My current quest to become the woman that I want to be involves listening to the advice of women who you admire. On Tuesday, I was lucky to volunteer at CWC’s Executive Series event and listen to veteran journalist and broadcaster Trina McQueen speaking about her career in broadcasting and her post corporate life. Currently an Adjunct Professor at the Schulich School of Business, Trina McQueen is a reference to women in communications here in Canada. She “retired” from a stellar career after achieving milestones such as COO and President of CTV Inc., founding President of the Discovery Channel, and Chief of News, Current Affairs and Newsworld at CBC. Yes, Trina is the type of Canadian icon that you really listen to if you want to advance in your career.

From “retirement” to securing a spot on a board, Trina covered it all during her interview with CWC’s President Stephanie MacKendrick. While listening Trina speak, I realized that I am on my way to where I want to be. It’s true that sometimes I haven’t planned every single step of my career, but it is still part of a successful journey. Through the whole hour that Trina talked about building her legacy, her advice on surviving the politics in the corporate world was what really stuck with me.

Keep your distance

When it comes to office politics and gossiping, it’s always better to keep a safe distance from the action. Knowing what is happening can be very tempting, but you’re often required to contribute to the rumours if you want to know what people are talking about. Participation often makes you the subject of the commotion and if you really want to advance in your career, you want to be respected by your peers.

Stay in the middle

You can still keep your distance and stay in the middle, they are non-exclusive concepts. Trina talked about how the right ally can help you understand what’s happening around you. There is always someone who you can trust even in the corporate world. Watch for the informal leaders; people who your peers will trust and share their impressions with.

Take care of your boss

We’ve all had bad bosses in our way at some point of our careers and we all know that it’s very tempting to bad mouth them when they are not around. However, we often forget that they are still our supervisors and probably the person who will help us advance in our careers. According to Trina, it’s our responsibility to take care of our boss and portray them in a good light. By taking care of our boss, we take care of our own corporate image and you never know who they know and where they can take you in the future.

101 years later, we still have a ways to go. Women like Trina McQueen really inspire me to keep fighting to build a world where we have more women in C-level positions and boards.

Happy International Women’s Day to all men and women who are committed to advancing women all over the globe!

Food for thought: International Women’s Day – Women in Media

And then, the first ten days without blogging happened! I confess that I have no idea where these days actually went. I am guessing PodCamp Toronto + my thesis project + Primetime in Ottawa + grading a whole bunch of exams was the lethal combination that prevented me from performing my daily task. I spent the whole day thinking about how I should report the last week and a half and still show my commitment to the project. The mash up solution seemed viable. It’s not the same, I know… but is a restart, at least!

Days #13 – 23: It’s happening and I am even starting to sound like a 30-year-old woman. I have memories, a busy life and responsibilities that are keeping me away from guiltless web browsing and my terrible habit of reality TV watching. Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining,  just learning that the things that I wished for are really happening and therefore, I have no time on my hands to spare. Victory will be mine (sometime soon!).

PodCamp Toronto 2012

The craziness started at PodCamp Toronto last weekend. Renée, Roberto and I spent last Saturday preparing for one of the most exciting events in the local social media scene. Since I had two talks scheduled back-to-back on Sunday morning, Saturday, Feb 25th was a day that didn’t exist. My only memory is from allowing PhotoJunkie to take this great portrait of me (a skilled photographer performs miracles even when you look really tired!) and meeting some great people at the Search vs. Social session.

Both my talks went really well. Roberto kicked butt presenting our impressions on the Brazilian market while I added a practical approach to all the data discussed.  When the time to talk about transmedia and fandom arrived, Renée and I made a lot of people laugh and talk about their favourite TV shows and films. I am not going to point any fingers at anyone here, but Buffy, Dr. Who and Harry Potter were very popular amongst the PodCamp Toronto peeps this year.

Back to school (sort of…)

Last Monday was back to school time. The week before was what they call “reading week,” which is kind of a second chance to catch up with the course load and not commit suicide in the middle of the winter. Since I was heading to Ottawa on Wednesday, Monday and Tuesday were only for catching up with what was going to happen during the week, give a presentation on Funk Carioca at my Cross-Cultural Communication class and deal with my graduate assistant work.

(The research for the cross-cultural communication presentation resulted in a very interesting interview with the Amerioca Don Blanquito, which will be published here soon).

Primetime in Ottawa 2012

I left Toronto on Wednesday to join the Ryerson University team at CMPA’s Primetime in Ottawa conference. My fellow panelists Rob Haydari, Britney Darmanin, Wil Noack and I took #44 Via Rail train to tell media producers and broadcasters our impressions of the industry and forecast its future based on our experience as consumers and media professionals.

The conference was a great opportunity to “bump into” thought leaders like Digital Media Visionary Robert Tercek and author Robert Levine.  Even before our panel went on stage, I think it was clear to the delegates that the future of “free” content and online streaming was already a reality.

We, GenYs, haven’t shifted completely to online platforms in Canada only because of the “metering” in effect in some provinces, including Ontario. The truth is that is easy to get engaging and quality content for next to nothing online today. The current challenge is to find ways to fund productions and profit on ads and product placement.

 Primetime deserves an exclusive blog post, I know… I promise it will be live before the end of this week!

Sleeping, Marking, and Sleeping…

Back in Toronto, my weekend was dedicated to catching up on my sleep and marking exams for two different classes. I know that the post started with a life of glamour, girl power and fame; but I’ll end it with my tough reality… Graduate assistants have to work when students are relieved and trying to forget their latest exams. After a week of stardom, I am back with my answering keys, assignments, graduate research and blog posts…

Remember when I said that I started writing for The Next Great Generation? So, this is the first article that I wrote for the website inspired on Valentine’s month and published on Feb 24th in the technology section.

There is still time to find yourself a belated Valentine (or a hook up if you wish).

You would think our generation had it all figured out by now, but judging by the number of flirting (a.k.a. hook up) apps and websites out there, we still have a long way to go. I know that we’ve talked about how technology can help our generation find a date before, but since you’re still single, five more online resources won’t hurt your dating strategy. It may actually increase your chances of scoring a date before the end of Valentine’s month. No matter what’s your age, sexual preference or the city you live in, we assure you, there is an app for that!

Grindr (iPhone, Blackberry and Android)

The geo-location hook-up app that gained the news last year after a Republican politician was caught using Grindr and posting very spicy pictures of hisderrière online is still a precious download if you are a gay man who appreciates chatting but wants to get to the point fast. Present in 192 countries and with over 2.6 million active users according to last year’s stats, Grindr is the perfect app for guys who want to date locally or are travelling and want to establish connections where they are.

Setting up a profile on Grindr is simple and you gain access to the local hotties immediately after you complete the set up. The app is available on the most current mobile platforms through the Apple, Android and Blackberry stores. But yes, you’ll be left out if you’re still rocking your little sister’s old pink Motorola Razr.

Blendr (iPhone, Android, Facebook Connect)

Blendr is being called the straight-friendly version of Grindr, although it’s more subtle than its inspiration. Also a geo-location based app, Blendr has been marketed as a modern way to meet new people with similar interests and tastes, but we all know what this approach actually means.

With an interface very similar to Grindr and Facebook integration, Blendr can be a great platform for flirting and getting to know people before going on an official date. Online chatting is available and you can also star all the big catches that you find along the way.

SpeedDate (Website and Facebook Connect)

The SpeedDate idea is based on live interaction, but I’d define it as a war zone! The website uses Facebook connect to fill out your dating profile with your profile picture and basic information. If you’re really looking for somewhere to better your self-esteem, this is the website for you. Dating candidates will be inviting you to chat within minutes of your first login. Be prepared!

SpeedDate also offers some perks for a little bit of cash. You can have a verified badge added to your profile for $0.99/month, which will also give your profile priority in searches and open up some other messaging features. The only downside to SpeedDate is when you’re trying to close the chat tabs. The share button is considerably bigger than the close one, which can lead you to share your dating activity on your Facebook timeline.  Awkward…

Are You Interested? (iPhone, Android, Website and Facebook Connect)

One of the largest social applications on the internet with over 55 million installs, Are You Interested? is one of the most well-known dating resources used by our generation.  The website has one of the most user-friendly set-ups with a step-by-step tour to help you get the best out of their searching experience.

Are You Interested? works similarly to the old game “hot or not” that some of us played in high school (okay, some of us are still playing it on Facebook!) The difference is that the application tries to match you with other users and you say yes or skip their profile. Like the other services mentioned here, this app has also a paid service that for $8.75 – $20.99/month allows users to see who viewed their profile and expand the messaging features.

Okay… now you have more than enough information to score a date this weekend. Put yourself out there and find a Valentine (or rather, a hook up) before the end of the month!

Images via avlxyz & Mattastic!

Original post published here.

I can’t believe that February is gone! If we keep at this pace, my graduation will arrive way too fast…

February was a fantastic month with connections happening online and offline and two talks at PodCamp Toronto. Updating the blog was a challenge since I was working on a user-friendly version of the blog (What do you think? Is it easier to find the project’s posts?). However, I took note of all my thoughts and will be posting the missing days here very soon. I also started writing for the Tech session in The Next Great Generation and will update you on that too. Stay tuned!

Day #12: I know that a lot of people will laugh at me, but my first big disappointment in life happened on Christmas Eve when I was six years old. I think it was the first time in my life that I actually paid attention to Santa’s existence and I was completely obsessed with the idea of meeting him. I wrote a letter to Santa beforehand, left a pair of shoes close to the window at the beginning of the night and stood guard in my parents’ living room. Santa was expected to arrive in his helicopter at midnight (Helicopter?!? Yes, that’s how we roll in Brazil). It was probably the first time in my life that I didn’t fall asleep at 9pm. My mom says that she and my father were desperate to get me out of the house, but I wouldn’t leave. Well… I had my reasons!

At midnight our neighbour asked me to go to her house to do something that was apparently really important. I left my house for less than 5 minutes only to see my dad rushing to the neighbour’s house telling me that Santa was at our place. Yes… people in my family take acting seriously! I remember feeling my heart jumping out of my chest as I was finally going to meet Santa! I rushed to the living room and found my gift close to the window, but where was Santa? Yep, you guessed it, he had too many gifts to deliver that night and had left in his helicopter.

I still remember sitting on the floor and just crying for a long time… My mom still tells this story with a sad face, even though she laughs at what happened. I am not going to say that my parents scarred me for life on December 24th, 1988, but I will say that they were never successful with surprising me ever again. I am telling this story because no matter what you do, you will screw up your kids at some point anyway. However, since I am telling this story today and have laughed at it a couple of times, I will finish this blog post on a optimistic note saying that if you do screw your kids up, they might overcome it before they turn thirty.

Day #11: At this point in my life, I know exactly what makes me laugh: other people’s paranoias!  Seriously, it amazes me how adults can be paranoid about what people think about them and how that will impact their lives. It’s not often that people get my sense of humour, I will confess that. It’s very common to see me laughing out loud by myself after someone makes a very dark comment. However, I am getting old and sometimes I make fun of people expecting that they’ll fire back. The ones who do have my respect forever!

Anyway, maturing is all about developing a great sense of humour. We all know that we are not getting any younger, you might as well get a laugh out of it! Are you with me?

Day #10:  It may change in the coming decades, but my favourite memory from these almost 30 years of life is of a victory that was just mine. I was only fifteen and going through a lot with adolescence, sleeping long hours and all the drama involved with growing up. Writing has always been a big part of my life and as far as I can remember, I’ve always been writing some sort of poem or book. However, it was only after I came back from Europe that I really got into writing poetry and trying to translate into words what was happening in my head. It was actually Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People painting that inspired the whole thing.

It was 1997 and a women called Freedom who lead the French people into a new era really inspired me. Delacroix’s best known painting motivated me to write a poem on my way back home, which later I submitted to my high school’s poetry festival and anxiously waited to interpret it on stage. It was the first time that I was embodying something that I’ve written and I couldn’t be more excited. The poem got lost in time and, since I am living in Canada now, I have no idea of what words I used to talk about La Liberté. I remember the feeling of being on a stage defending my ideas. That day, when I had the spotlight on me for the first time, influenced most of my decisions later on.

My poem didn’t win that night, but I did take a trophy home and my parents took me out for dinner to celebrate. After that I started drama classes, wrote a collective play that was on at Planetário da Gávea for three months and followed my dream of making a living out of a passion. It all started with me staring at freedom and promising that I would be free from that day on…

Day #9: My status as an ex-pat has become a big part of who I am. Even though living in Canada is a recent decision made only five years ago, being in a foreign country really changed the way that I see the world and how my friends and family impact my life. One thing that every immigrant underestimates is the role of the people that they know when they leave their home countries behind. I thought I had decided to not return to Brazil for a number of reasons. They were all reasonable and, at the time, the pros were more valuable than the cons. They still are. However, what we don’t know is that when we leave, we give up a number of small privileges that often make our lives easier. By moving away from friends and family, we give up our safety net.

Most of us have never thought about what having a safety net really means, but we all figure that out during our first days in a new country. I went through a lot of “figuring out” in the last five years, however the most important thing that I learned was that my success is the consequence of my local friends’ support, and that I’d be lost if they weren’t around to pick me up when I fall. Five years was enough time to test empirically the impact that bad company can have on my life. In Brazil, they have a popular expression that says Tell me about the company you keep and I’ll tell you who you really are. Once again, popular folklore hit the nail on the head!

The good news is that in five years, I’ve really perfected my friend radar and have become better at welcoming the right people into my life. Maturing also taught me to be more flexible with the size of my safety net and expand it beyond geographic barriers and countries. I still have a couple of great friends in Vancouver, Rio and London who are an integral part of my life in Toronto, people who know me enough to kick my butt when necessary. If I was able to give only one piece of advice to my younger self, I’d probably tell her to surround herself with people who push her buttons and acknowledge her creativity. People who are dreamers and want more out of their lives, who are critical and love a good discussion. My safety net is about pushing me beyond my limits and hopefully positively impacting the life of the people who support me along the way.

Day #8: I know that it’s a confusing concept, but I am living an ex-pat life within an ex-pat life. There are things that I terribly miss from my life in Vancouver and I wish I could have them here in Toronto. I know that I am long overdue with my Vancouver vs. Toronto blog post, but I can assure you that Vancouver still wins when it comes to Hockey.

Luckily, Mr. Ames and I have found a safe place to exercise our Canucks fanatism. Thanks again to Eric, we found the good fellows of Nucks Misconduct and were able to join in the last meet up. Let me tell you… cheering for the Canucks like we’re at home is great! Even though this blog post may scare all the Maple Leafs fans away, I was proud to wear my Canucks tee again and allow myself to cheer for a team that can make the playoffs. However, being in that group made me miss my time in Vancouver and I started thinking that once you start moving around you become an ex-pat from all the places that you’ve lived before.

Have you ever had the same feeling? Is it possible to miss a hometown even though the city is not your birth city?

Day #7: Time is teaching me that nothing can make a night-in better than sharing good food and wine with friends. So when the Face Your Farmer team told me that they would come over to cook dinner for Mr. Ames and I, a very excited yes was the only reasonable answer that I could give them. Based on the lack of recipes but abundant restaurant reviews in this blog, you probably know that I am not the primary cook in our household. Yes, I hate cooking but eating is definitely my favourite sport

One of the things that I enjoyed most while growing up on a small farm was constantly having a house filled with friends and family every single weekend. Sometimes we would have over 20 people for Sunday lunch when, for practical reasons, would feature an old style macarronada with fresh picked tomatoes from my granny’s garden. The mid-day meals often lasted the whole afternoon with my mom baking one of her marvelous cakes to be served with Fazenda Flor da Matta‘s authentic coffee. In my family, eating is almost a religion. Sitting at the table to enjoy food is a ritual where we appreciate the best ingredients (sometimes fruits and vegetables that we farmed ourselves) and spend time talking about our lives.

Living abroad and in a big city actually distanced me from the nurturing aspect of my life. In the last five years, I spent my time fighting my hunger but rarely enjoying what I was eating. That’s the reason why I am so excited about the Face Your Farmer project. Ryan and Jayson are not only committed to teaching us about organic eating, but also showing us who local Canadian farmers are and helping us to understand the link between our food and our health. In a year full of resolutions for the next decade, I’ll be happy if I actually  get back to my roots and make eating an important ritual of my day again.

Day #6: One thing that is great about getting older is not caring as much about what other people will think about me. In all fairness, living abroad did help with distancing myself from high school stalkers or anyone who could actually affect me with their negative comments. The difference now at 30 is that I became very quick in brushing off any kind of feeling of embarrassment. The catholic guilt, so ingrained in my culture, is slowly disappearing as well as the term from my vocabulary.

This attitude has allowed me to do better in so many things in my life. I am slowly becoming a better photographer as I am not afraid of doing what it takes to get the shot. Speaking at events has become part of who I am and my favourite way to establish new connections. And networking is now a cornerstone of my personal and professional life (something that I enjoy too!).

Growing older actually has more advantages than I expected!

What has changed with age for you?