Each of our heroines is a new chapter in a long novel under the title ‘Woman’.
What a variety of fascinating stories, of beauty unlike each other.

A woman is a unique creature: when being broken to pieces, falling down from hopelessness and falling apart, she assembles her soul ‘piece by piece’, becoming even more perfect, stronger and better in this world. To become the most unique and inimitable mosaic, you have to bring the pieces of your soul and the shards of your heart back together.

Such strong and unbreakable spirit in a delicate fragile female body!

Natalia: In my opinion, everything is interconnected. When you are filled with happiness from inside, it involuntarily ‘flows’ outside, onto others, it cannot be kept inside. You wake up, hug your loved ones, and both you and they feel good, smile at a nearby passer-by and you feel good again! But it happens that you wake up and everything is not so good, but you pay attention to a sunbeam on a flower, or you see a yellow-red leaf floating weightlessly in the window, your neighbour holding the door for you... when we notice such seemingly small things, we make our mood of happiness out of them. In my opinion, if you focus on such moments, you will have more of them in your life every day. In my childhood there was a popular song ‘We wish you happiness! ’ it has these words: ’... when you are happy yourself, share your happiness with another!.. ’ this principle does work, we, like garland bulbs, light each other with the light of happiness.

AA: Do you consider yourself a strong woman? And what does it mean for you to be strong? What qualities does a strong woman possess?

Natalia: It is a woman's ability to take responsibility for her life. Not to shift it to others, to her husband, friends, children, parents, but to be responsible for the consequences of her actions or inactions. Also, a strong woman, in my opinion, is a wise woman. She feels the moment when to hide the sword in the scabbard and manifest the beautiful feminine essence: not to fight, not to prove, not to make decisions for a man, but to ‘surrender’, thus increasing her strength. I would add that a strong woman can be relied on, she will provide a reliable rear and a shoulder to lean on.

AA: Why are we all afraid of aging and is it really so scary? How did you accept your age?

Natalia: We are afraid of the external manifestation of age, the first wrinkles, the first grey hair... And a woman should always be young, as they impose on us. From my point of view, age is a stage of life, and when you feel that a certain stage is completed, you summarise the results and move to the next level, I would say. You know, once I thought that there is no life after thirty, but only when you are at this stage you realise how wrong you were! And I am sure that something exciting, incomprehensible for me now is waiting for me at the next levels. In my opinion, at any age a woman can feel desirable and sexy if she allows herself to do so.

AA: What are women after 40 missing? What advice do you have for women who are afraid of getting old?

Natalia: Women lack Love. Love for themselves. I mean something that cannot be bought, which is attention to oneself and the ability to hear oneself. Someone wants to just lie in silence for at least 5 minutes; someone wants to walk in the fresh air, choosing a longer route home to be alone with their favourite music or thoughts; someone wants to do sports... but we are in a hurry, we are in a hurry, we have to feed and warm everyone. And without taking into account such small desires of ours, we become more irritated every day. Let's stop this running, and listen to ourselves - maybe a cup of coffee? And let's leisurely walk home... The fulfilment of such small desires both fills us and inspires us to do new things.

Natalia: I read this notion recently, and I will answer with it: a woman is like water, she is beautiful in all her forms. Water has no non-ideal form, whether it is the smoothness of a river or the turbulence of sea waves. So is a woman, she is beautiful in any of her embodiments.

Natalia: For me, it is important to feel what a person is like: what they think about, what they dream about, what they believe in, what their values are. And this is possible when communicating without visual contact. For example, I met my husband on the phone, we started communicating through work, but at that time we lived in different cities.

Natalia: It is never too late. It is important to be honest with yourself and follow your own path, your own unique way. There are many examples when an accountant turned out to be a designer, and a successful surgeon became an artist. Isn't Iris Apfel or Nina Stazheva an inspiring example?

AA: Let's talk about the aesthetics of age. In your opinion, does it exist and in what ways does it manifest itself?

Natalia: To tell you the truth, there was a moment in my life when I realised that something was going wrong, like life was passing me by. And alone with myself, it was about being honest and accepting that. Yes, I was going the wrong way. And when I realised that, the exit doors were found almost immediately. I can now say with complete confidence, ‘Yes, I am living life to the fullest!’

Natalia: Family. Interactions with my husband and children. Our children are of different ages and they reveal to me a lot of new and exciting things, they view the world from a different angle. They are wise - and I learn so much from them. I like it when we all get together, watch films together or go for walks. I also love sauna and communicating with nature. It is then that my galloping thoughts are calmed down and I get purified.

Natalia: The initial idea that motivated me to start this project was to prove it to myself that growing up and getting older is not a scary thing! It can be done in different ways, the choice is yours.

Natalia: After participating in the АА project, I realised that you should not be afraid of something new, you should go towards it, open new horizons and opportunities for yourself. Don't be afraid to get out of your cosy shell and make yourself known to the world, it's the only way to get to know yourself better and explore the world!