Do you remember celebrating International Women’s Day 10 years ago? What about 20 years ago? When my family first immigrated to Canada from Eastern Europe in 1992, IWD was barely a thing in North America. I still remember wishing my classmates and teachers a happy IWD and being met with blank stares and disbelief. A day celebrating women? How preposterous!

Thankfully the times are changin’ and for once, it’s a good thing. While IWD may be behind us, it sparked some insightful and ongoing conversations in my circle of lady friends, conversations that felt pretty share-worthy.

Inspired by #3YearGoals (an awareness campaign aimed at empowering young women to set goals over the next 3 years of their lives), my pals and I spent a lot of time discussing our plans and strategies for the coming years. Some swore by meditation and visualization exercises, while others took a more practical approach with to-do lists and calendar reminders.

Despite our varying styles, we all agreed the 5-year plan seemed overwhelming. We all work in the media/film/journalism spectrum, so the idea of planning that far in advance with a constantly shifting media landscape seemed unrealistic. Will print be obsolete? Will cable still exist or will video content be consumed exclusively over the web? WHO KNOWS? That’s why, like the majority of Canadian millennial women (85% to be exact) we felt more empowered to set goals with a 3-year timeframe.

Below are my #3YearGoals, and I would love for you to share yours with us as well!

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Keep Growing SDTC

In the past year alone, we’ve partnered with amazing brands we love on fun and challenging campaigns. We started a new initiative to share stories of addiction and recovery. We contested away HUGE prizes, including a vacation to Croatia, which one very lucky reader won. We’ve expanded the SDTC family to include new writers who make us laugh and cry, sometimes within a single paragraph. We’ve shared stories of triumph and failure so other women can learn from our successes and mistakes alike. It’s been a wonderful year, and I cannot wait to see what SDTC will look like in 3 years, and how it will evolve into an even larger, stronger and more inclusive network for women in Toronto.

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Enter the International Market with UNCUFFED

When I was 28, I made myself a promise that I would start a fashion business when I was 30. Fast-forward 2 years and lots of hustlin’, and my line of artisanal leather accessories, body jewellery and headpieces is out in the world!

While the UNCUFFED brand is still young (we launched in late November), I have pretty major plans for expansion, a wicked collection and lookbook shoot planned for summer, and some very exciting projects in the works.

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Prioritize Fitness and Self-care

With everything that I’ve had going on over the last few years (not that I’m complaining), fitness has taken a back seat in my life. Over the next year, I plan to commit to a regular ashtanga yoga practice because it makes me grounded and kinder, spend a few hours a week at the gym and get back to my favourite barre/ballet classes at the Toronto School of Burlesque.

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Join the Real Estate Game

My husband and I have had pretty great luck with rentals in Toronto, but we’re getting to a point where the idea of owning our own home is important to us. I guess this is what they call adulting…

Slowly but surely, we’re starting to look for the live/work space of our dreams: an industrial loft with high ceilings, exposed brick and chrome pipes. Something that’s big enough to house a showroom for UNCUFFED, a studio for product photography and glam shots of Bennie and Junior (OBVIOUSLY), a sizeable living room for entertaining and a spare room that can be converted into a nursery down the road.

Many parents will tell you that you’ll never feel ready to have a baby, and it’s something you just need to do. But I believe in being prepared and doing everything I can in order to be the best and most fulfilled version of myself because that in turn will make me the best parent I can be. In my case, that means safely delaying pregnancy until I’ve achieved my #3YearGoals. WISH ME LUCK!

Now that I showed you mine, I want to see yours! I’d love to know what your #3YearGoals are. Leave a comment below!