# aasthavkapoor > How discomfort found me this week — #4amThoughts Newsletter: every Friday. Public Ghost content for AI and LLM tooling. This file includes a bounded export of public pages first, then recent public posts. Append `.md` to any post or page URL to get the content in Markdown (for example, `/example-post.md`). ## Pages ### Links URL: https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/links/ Last updated: 2026-08-24T20:34:10.000Z ![Aastha Kapoor](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2026/08/Untitled-3-1-1-1.jpg) # @aasthavkapoor Food · Sustainability · Money · Growth Main socials [ YouTube ](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1cwEszOd7Ed-gNorGS2pfQ?sub%5Fconfirmation=1&ref=aasthavkapoor.com) [ Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/aasthavkapoor/?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) [ TikTok ](https://www.tiktok.com/@aasthavkapoor?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) [ Discord ](https://discord.com/invite/RZGwNaWsQ?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) [💌 Email: aasthavkapoor@gmail.com](mailto:aasthavkapoor@gmail.com) Support me [ Stripe ](https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/#/portal/support) [ Cash App ](https://cash.app/$aasthavkapoor1?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) [ Shop Products 🌱 ](https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/shop) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2026/08/IMG_9210-6-1.jpg) ## ****#4amThoughts Newsletter** Every Friday: How discomfort found me this week. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. ****Dedicated to family, faith & altruism.** I aspire to be just like you dada♥️ **(that's me & my grandpa)* ### Shop URL: https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/shop/ Last updated: 2026-08-27T00:07:12.000Z Shipping is $7 USA & Canada wide. Only pay shipping once! ## Posts ### Self doubt… URL: https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/self-doubt/ Last updated: 2026-08-29T21:39:09.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### 12 Apple Shortcuts you'll want to steal URL: https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/appleshortcuts/ Last updated: 2026-08-22T18:50:34.000Z > Direct links for you to ADD the shortcut to your device. > BEST USE add shortcuts to: > control center, homescreen, notification centre, widgets, action button, or back tap. --- Links: 1. [Delete photos](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/a00954c280bb4b0689da5e6949caac6c?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) 2. [Open playlist](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/b47359f57ffa43e4885e8bc0b6d01c4d?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) 3. Open [Zzz sleep playlist](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/b10e6d7236844f8482bf738fc9b264f3?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) with Stop Playing timer 4. Text reminders to yourself, 1 texts to your [icloud ID](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/ac38ed2dece94fce95e6c8de6df2af29?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) & 1 texts your [phone number](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/d2417cd4d31d432da28d9b092789077b?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) 5. [Open conversation](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/11f4cf80b1d848c0916c2f202545f0af?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) in messages app 6. Most Used Texting Chat — same shortcut link as [open conversation](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/11f4cf80b1d848c0916c2f202545f0af?ref=aasthavkapoor.com), just don’t leave it blank this time. Add a specific contact or group chat. 7. open [Current App Settings](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/461d848e218746119aa58e76a920c6e1?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) 8. open [Location](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/0a2c61aeb62341dcb7a1348a7f9e4d6f?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) in settings to manually turn it off 9. open directions to [home 🚙](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/feeb22eb17d244888d53e16893fe382a?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) 10. open AI quickly — it already exists as a widget just search it and add it to you not notification center or control center 11. [Bedroom lamp](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/f1bb261a24ae40b2bf310447bfcd3ff5?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) toggle on/off \[you'll need to buy a smart wall plug\] 12. [log data in health app](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/640b80408e6e4b6ab1160cbc375157ea?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) \--I use it to log my period & my weight ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2026/08/image-5.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2026/08/IMG_9210-6-1.jpg) ## ****#4amThoughts Newsletter** Every Friday: How discomfort found me this week. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. ****Dedicated to family, faith & altruism.** I aspire to be just like you dada♥️ **(that's me & my grandpa)* 🗞️ Bonus member content *(* **free** *just* ***subscribe** *via email):* _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Public Advocacy URL: https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/public-advocacy/ Last updated: 2025-10-15T16:55:22.000Z ### Social Media Post ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/08/public-advocacy-30_.png) ****Caption:** Help Manitoba become the leading example of sustainability in Canada! Let's adopt LEED & lower our energy impact! @sustainablebuildingmanitoba @mbeconetwork @efficiencymb @CaGBC #ClimateAction #EnergyEfficiency #SustainableBuildings ### Questions > What type of social media post did you produce? Why? I made an Instagram reel because I think its format can be used on other platforms, if you ever want to replicate it in the future. For example, for this blog post, I published it on YouTube shorts so I could link it on this blog. The same can be done to post it to TikTok. Also, the Canva image can be used as the cover image for the post on Instagram, or reused else where. Instagram is also a good place for all stakeholders to have discussions and tag organizations/each other. > How will this advocacy method help you reach your target audience? Yes, I think this advocacy method will help me reach my target audience of the public (age 25 above). Since, most people above 25 I know use Instagram or Facebook. These 2 platforms are by the same company, and when you post something on one, you have the option to simultaneously post it on the other. A lot of the older population uses Facebook, so with one platform I can reach a wide range of people. > Why is this an appropriate method for your selected organization to use? This method is appropriate for Sustainable Building Manitoba to use because it is a modern way to reach/connect with the public that no longer consumes traditional forms of news/media. You can get instant engagement, potentially great solutions, and feedback from the public. > Identify at least three academic resources used to inform your social media post (APA Style Citations): - Bird, L. (2025, February 4). Sustainable Building Manitoba \[Lecture notes\]. In Green Building and Planning (ENVR 3750). University of Manitoba. - Green Badger. (2022, June 23). How to read a LEED scorecard \[Blog post\]. Green Badger. Retrieved August 20, 2025, from [https://getgreenbadger.com/how-to-read-a-leed-scorecard/](https://getgreenbadger.com/how-to-read-a-leed-scorecard/?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) - Sustainable Building Manitoba. (n.d.). Manitoba Building Codes and Standards. Retrieved August 20, 2025, from [https://www.sustainablebuildingmanitoba.ca/manitoba-building-codes-and-standards/](https://www.sustainablebuildingmanitoba.ca/manitoba-building-codes-and-standards/?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) --- ### Written Advocacy Old buildings waste energy, increase costs, and contribute to climate change. This is why mandatory energy caps/maximums for large public/private buildings, should be implemented to meet a certain threshold like the Platinum LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certified. By adding these changes to the Manitoba Energy Code for Buildings, this standard can be enforced. Energy inefficiency contributes to rising emissions, higher operating costs, wasted resources, which negatively impacts our net-zero goals. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/08/image-1.png) Manitoba's energy efficiency tiers. Manitoba Energy Code for Buildings, is an adoption of National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings, 2020\. MB Energy Code for Buildings is currently at Tier 2, the government is proposing Tier 1, Tier 5 is needed to be net-zero ready, we are moving backwards. By enforcing the lowest Tier we are accepting unnecessary emissions, high energy consumption, inefficient systems, and not demanding innovation. We don’t set buildings to be built to the highest standard in the long run they consume significantly more energy than necessary, and have more economic and environmental costs. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/08/image-3.png) These large buildings likely have the money to make this expensive transition that will help their long-term energy costs and pave the way for everyone else. Innovation is expensive. By enforcing the people who can afford to be innovative, the technology can then become more affordable for everyone else once the demand creates a market for it. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/08/image-8-1-1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/08/image-4.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/08/image-6.png) Scorecard of the things you get tested on to become LEED certified. Any level of LEED certification is a good start, but platinum should be implemented by large buildings, to inspire others. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/08/image-12.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/08/image-10.png) MEC Winnipeg. LEED Gold Building 2002\. --------------------------- Buffalo Place. LEED Platinum Building 2003\. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/08/image-9-1.png) One might say hydro energy is abundant in Manitoba so we don't need to cut back on our energy usage. Yet, in our long Winnipeg winters most homes are heated by natural gas which is extracted by fracking. Both natural gas and fracking are harmful for the environment, expensive, and not a clean energy source. The pipes transporting natural gas sometimes leak, letting the methane go straight into the atmosphere. Switching natural gas heating to electric is another way we can make our building sustainable. So we damage our ozone from this additional methane from natural gas. Inaction on inefficient energy systems has a negative impact on our future. By adopting a stricter Manitoba Energy Code for Buildings and enforcing mandatory energy caps/maximums for large public and private buildings, Manitoba could be the province that sets the bar for sustainability in Canada. LEED platinum certifications can help these large buildings reach the Tier 5/net-zero standard, and just by having more LEED buildings around, advocacy is taking place by example. We can choose higher standards today, and build a future that is cleaner, fairer, and more affordable for everyone. Or keep going down this path of planning a greener net-zero future, but never executing the hard, abrupt steps we need to take today to get there. ### Questions > What type of written advocacy content did you produce? Why? The written advocacy content I produced was a blog, because I have made these kinds of posts before. I enjoy the process and how creative I can get with them, like adding videos, images, linking bibliography and organizing it all. Making a final piece of work that is easy to look at and dive deep into. > How will this advocacy method help you reach your target audience? I think this advocacy method can help me reach my target audience of the public (age 25 above), because I can put the blog post link in the bio of the post created in part 3a. > Why is this an appropriate method for your selected organization to use? The blog post will be timeless, and its link can be used in future newsletters from Sustainable Building MB or anywhere else. A blog post is perfect for my mature audience, because the information can use more technical language, dive deeper into the topic, while still keeping the blog post digestible with videos and imagery. > How does your written advocacy submission build on/connect with the social media post you developed for this campaign? My written advocacy submission builds on the social media post by getting deeper into the topic, with videos and imagery of present LEED platinum Manitoba examples. This allows people to see that LEED platinum is feasible because it already exists in Manitoba. > Is your written content and social media content directed at the same audience? Why or why not? My media post (Instagram) and written advocacy (blog) are directed at the same people, but the blog goes a little deeper into the topic to make people understand why they should care. Directed at the same people, but they can understand the topic thoroughly with the blog post. > Identify at least five academic resources used to inform your written advocacy submission (APA Style Citations): - Bird, L. (2025, February 4). Sustainable Building Manitoba \[Lecture notes\]. In Green Building and Planning (ENVR 3750). University of Manitoba. - Government of Manitoba, Sustainable Development, Energy Branch. (n.d.). Five-year report on energy in Manitoba: 2009–2014 \[PDF\]. Retrieved August 24, 2025, from https://www.gov.mb.ca/sd/pubs/energy/five\_year\_report.pdf - Green Badger. (2022, June 23). How to read a LEED scorecard \[Blog post\]. Green Badger. Retrieved August 20, 2025, from https://getgreenbadger.com/how-to-read-a-leed-scorecard/ - Sudarshan. (2024, September 24). How can you achieve top-tier sustainability goals with LEED? Zyeta Sustainability. Retrieved August 24, 2025, from https://www.zyeta.com/blogs/how-can-you-achieve-top-tier-sustainability-goals-with-leed/ - Sustainable Building Manitoba. (n.d.). Manitoba Building Codes and Standards. Retrieved August 20, 2025, from https://www.sustainablebuildingmanitoba.ca/manitoba-building-codes-and-standards/ --- ### Feedback on this Assignment: Please answer the following questions about the Public Advocacy Project. > Was this a useful assignment? Why or why not? Yes, this was a useful assignment. It allowed me to apply my knowledge creatively on public advocacy, impact assessment, Manitoba Energy Code for Buildings and other materials from this course. > How could it be improved in the future? Other than more in-class time to collaborate, I think the assignment is great. We got lots of examples from the previous assignment for the media portion and essay format guide for the written part. I liked the time crunch aspect because it left no time to procrastinate, which I'm great at doing. --- Assignment 2: ## Impact Assessment Social media post ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/10/IA-post.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/10/IA-post-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/10/IA-post-2.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/10/IA-post-insta-1-1.jpg) Created for Instagram. --- > The above 2 assignments, public advocacy & impact assessment were for the following class. > Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources, University of Manitoba > ENVR 4000: Decision Making for Sustainability > Dr. Heather Fast ### Banff Journal URL: https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/banff-journal/ Last updated: 2025-06-17T20:36:03.000Z GEOG 4350 - Parks & Protected Areas Planning & Management Practical portion of this field course toom place in Banff from May 25 to June 6\. We researched overcrowding in Lake Minnewanka but observed it all over Banff. --- ### May 25 - Sunday Having arrived to the campground we enjoyed our first fire together. Adjusting to the living conditions & observing neighbours who left their food out, fire on, & left with their car —their camp was raided by a concerned/angry Parks Canada employee on patrol. We also got our stove taken away the next evening because we left it out on the campsite table since we hadn't used it. Throughout the next 12 days it way interesting to see the way different families camped. The most intriguing one I saw was a family that brought a big screen and projector, so that they could sit by the fire & the kids could watch movies. The showers every night had to be timed right because of overcrowding in the evenings, but it worked out most nights by going to shower after the fire around 10pm to miss the crowds. --- ### May 26 - Monday Lake Minnewanka We hiked to main crowding spots at Lake Minnewanka, & where we would be surveying the following days. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0253.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0713-1.jpeg) On our drive in there was a unsafe situation of other tourists stopping their car to take pictures of the sheep/deer at the side of the road. We had to wait for them to be done or try to overtake them on the 2 lane 2-way road. When it happened to us there wasn't much crowding on the road but if there was it would have been hard/risky to overtake 5 stopped cars over verses the 1 we had to overtake. Old Dam \- We went to the Old Dam a short walk from Lake Minnewanka, & found out trans delta owns it and that operated on the cascade river. The architecture of the Dam was interesting. 2 Jack Lake \- We ate lunch here, it shows up right as you leave Lake Minnewanka. This is also where we saw people feeding geese, kids the size of geese, risking their fingers. It shows how these geese were habituated because the geese in Winnipeg would have certainly hissed and bit you. Johnson Lake ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0733.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0735.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0256-2.jpeg) We hiked around this lake as a class & the crowding was minimal & spread out, as there were many picnic spots around the man made non-glacier fed lake. Mount Norquay Lookout —Banff town viewpoint ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0258-1.jpeg) I think this extra parking space at the side of a zigzag road is an outcome of overcrowding. Lots of traffic to the view point has likely led to more parking being created at the edges of the road to keep the road safe, from a traffic jam or people stopped with flashers on. Bow Falls ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0742.jpeg) Bow Falls has easy accessibility & great proximity to Banff, the crowding here made sense. Low effort for a nice waterfall view --- ### May 27 - Tuesday Research 🐿️ ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0729.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0715.jpeg) First day of researching at Lake Minnewanka we discovered the spots that could get the most people, & got into the groove of giving out surveys. Bikers were really hard to get because they wouldn't stop. --- ### May 28 - Wednesday Off day: Rafting ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0725.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0724.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0726.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0736-1.jpeg) It felt great to show up early, before opening & beating the crowds for the rafting tour with such an experienced guide —& listen to his stories about India. Farmers Market ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0279.jpeg) Artisans & artists of different kinds, created a unique farmers market, you could see the globalization & multiculturalism shining through -from tourists all over the world. The overcrowding didn't feel the same in a market setting, all the people in this setting made it feel lively & if it was empty I'm not sure I would want to be there. E-biked Banff to Johnston Canyon ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0741.jpeg) Biking to Johnston Canyon from Banff railway was such a unique experience, I went to Johnston canyon last summer to do the ink pots hike & I didn't even know that Bow Valley Parkway existed. I am definitely going to come back for it & do the bike ride further. It was funny to see the amount of people using the parkway, mostly only cyclists/e-bikers & Parks Canada or construction vehicles. Certain portions felt crowded cycling but were short-lived. As usual Johnston Canyon crowding was thriving like the past times I have gone. It was interesting to see all the locked bikes as I was locking mine. --- ### May 29 - Thursday Town Hall — This presentation was a highlight of the field trip, as it was intriguing to hear about the politics within Banff & its design features. I got a new lenses on the struggles of Banff locals. We learned about how Banff Ave. was opened to cars due to a close voting odds. It was sad to see because it closed to cars last summer & it felt so nice as a pedestrian to walk where ever you want. With locals fearing the overcrowding car traffic will end up in front of their houses. I wonder if it is possible to close off or add gates like a parking garage to the streets locals live on - & the impacts of this. Future plans & politics in play according to the presentation: Banff is dropping as a destination because of its congestion & cost. One fix is the Calgary to Banff rail. There’s also the $12 On-It bus from Calgary airport, but it needs better incentives & disincentives. On-It allows more Banff people are to head into Calgary, & more Calgary people that don't own a car to visit Banff. The east entrance gate is always open & just registers cash—gate is not helping manage crowds. Private companies like PC Rail shouldn’t control access decisions. Intercept parking works better: parking outside town. The railway lot alone keeps 5000 cars out of downtown, & there are new plans to add more. Roam Transit helps, but overflow buses struggle with stragglers & capacity. It's free for locals, & hotels pay Banff a flat rate so guests ride for free. Still, roads are packed, parking is $15/hr, & buses stay empty. Incentive: locals get $500 to buy an e-bike. De-incentive: Resident zones have 8am–8pm no-parking signs. But residents don’t want more pedestrian-only zones (like Bear St. or Banff Ave. being a pedestrian only zone) —car traffic just shifts to residential streets. Visitor-adjusted traffic modeling is tricky—“all models are wrong, some are useful”—and these are political decisions, especially at the federal level. There are also public-focused infrastructure projects like the Central Park pedestrian bridge (designed for elk & for people), the public washroom, & a nature-based playground. On Bear Street, the idea is to make the vehicle feel like a guest (via the Woonerf method) with no curbs, no lane-separation & obstacles on the road to make it inconvenience for cars & make them naturally go slower. They’ve also implemented stormwater drainage with bioswale treatment, before it joins the bow river. Sulphur Mountain Gondola ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0718.jpeg) You could feel the overcrowding at the gondola & the view point on Sulphur Mountian. It seemed like there was no time limit at the summit, which is a good thing from a tourists point of view, to get your money's worth & not feel rushed. But they never stop sending new people up so I think this can easily lead to crowding if the weather’s really nice. Litter I noticed litter high above from the gondala & on the trials once reaching the top (wherever humans are) -maybe the shops should use only biodegradable packaging —create littering fine incentives, with cameras. I picked up a ziplock bag that would have eventually fallen off the trail into the wild. Most ppl just walk by this litter. It is such a contrast to the views we go to experience but we do little to preserve them unless it is enforced. Maybe we should try implementing the preservation in our subconscious bias of social/cultural norms like Japan has done. Banff has 4.5 million visitors per year, these sustainability choices (biodegradable single use items/packaging, creating social norms) can spread all over the world if the visitors see the implementation in action at Banff. --- ### May 30 - Friday Research 🐿️ —More of the same routine handing out survey QR's today, but at the start of it Mackenzie Bear sprayed herself by accident, as she was pulling her backpack out a van compartment the safety came off the spray went off angled perfectly in the direction of her eyes & the roof of the van. We learned why it is important to keep bear spray in the trunk & not leave it in the car when you leave. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0722.jpeg) While a few of us girls helped her rinse her eyes out in the washroom, I could notice the crowding taking place in the bathroom as we took over 2 of the 4 sinks, women had made a line at times to wash their hands. This makes me think of how scarcity \[the sinks or people waiting to take a picture or admire a view\] can led to overcrowding, especially when the site is at its capacity, the overcrowding can be/feel more visible. Cliff White – Mountain → fire, ecology, & the re-introduction of the Bison ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0740.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0738.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0312-1.jpeg) Cliff White showed/taught us about his local landscape, opinions, & his career with Parks Canada prescribing forest burns to keep towns safe —creating clear fields with no fuel to prevent fire spread. He taught us about the trophic tree/cascade & interconnectedness of aspen, elk, & wolves. Also, the recent reintroduction of Bison in the area. I was at 12.2k steps at 6pm before I bused into town to eat & study. By 9pm shops \[retail\] started to close yet there was still so much overcrowding people on Banff Ave. I think because restaurants were still open & the fact that people also enjoy the night view. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0301.jpeg) I then walked back to the Tunnel Mountain 2 campsite since there was 40 minutes to sunset & a 40 minute walk to the campsite. Just as I reached the site I saw 2 Elk & ppl taking photos of them. The Elk seem to not mind our presence & maybe even take comfort in our presence because we keep predators \[wolf's\] away with our presence but we don't hurt the Elk - I think this can be seen as habituation. When I went to bed I saw that I had reached 18.8k steps, but my body didn't even feel tired like it usually does when I do this many steps, I still had lots of energy. I admire this quality of Banff's layout, that even after a full day of activities \[surveying, hiking, etc.\] the town makes it easy to want to walk around, feel curious & spend all your savings on food, goods, & experiences. To do all the things the people around you are doing or what you have seen on social media. --- ### May 31 - Saturday Research 🐿️ ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_7612.jpeg) During surveying I noticed new Canadians coming in large groups for picnics and boating. These large family groups can require larger picnic tables, & cause them to move the tables around. The following are more examples of habituation: The geese at 2 Jack Lake also seemed habituated because we saw it being feed and not hiss or bite the kids the same size as the geese. This was at the top of sulphur mountain, the squirrel didn't mind being in close proximity to humans taking pictures of it. It may get food from some litter humans drop or humans feeding it. When I was eating lunch on some rocks in Lake Minnewanka & this squirrel kept coming up to me, only a few inches away while I was eating. I think its comfort level of being so close to me shows that it has been fed in the past & that it expects being fed by coming that close to humans. It circling me impatient/expecting food form me, till I scared it off. This was a cafe on Banff Ave. where the bird just flew in, hanging out around the floor maybe to eat the crumbs people leave behind. I was happy this bird wanted to be close to me on Bear St. but I knew it was a sign of habituation, the bird expected some food when I stuck my hand out, but was confused when there was none. --- ### June 1 - Sunday Off day: Heart Mountain hike ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0381-1.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0351.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0344.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0374.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_6178.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0723.jpeg) This hike was barely crowded, I think because of the scramble part & the crazy height on both sides most of the hike, definitely keeps many people away. --- ### June 2 - Monday Park & Ride system — park your car & ride to Lake Louise, Moraine Lake, & back to your car for $8 courtesy of Parks Canada. But there are pricier private shuttles approximately $30 offering the same experience for a premium price. Yay✨ ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0497-1.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0484.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0482-1.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0485.jpeg) Design carrying capacity increased. Buses were supposed to help overcrowding, but they have made it worse. They solved the car overcrowding & traffic jams to a degree, but in turn made the sites themselves crowded because buses can drop off way more people then turn around to get more —way more than cars ever could. Moraine Lake ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0737.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_7659-2.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/image-1.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/3a12d227-fde2-420e-94c2-f0782bca40c5-1.jpeg) Lots of overcrowding at Moriane because of the buses/shuttles but not as much as Lake Louise. Lake Louise ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0728.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0488.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0487.jpeg) Overcrowding pictures of the main view/picture point at Lake Louise. I was here at 6am ish last summer to do the hikes around the Lake & it was busy even then, people had their cameras set up at the centre point to catch a time-lapse of the sunrise. Overcrowding because of hikers from Lake Louise town, the Fairmont guests, shuttles/bus's, roam transit, & the huge parking lot they have in the back for cars. Lake Louise crowding is worser than Moraine Lake. Spiral Tunnels ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0501.jpeg) The crowding here wasn't too bad the huge parking lot for the viewpoint seemed a little unnecessary to me, but maybe it is needed during peak times of the year. --- ### June 3 - Tuesday Research 🐿️ 1-4pm ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0539.jpeg) I like the transit system in Banff. It was great that the transit into town was free from Tunnel Mountain 2 campgrounds, I used it a few times & walked back to camp during sunsets. It is affordable & I noticed locals using it too. I can see my self using it in the future for Sulphur mountain & Lake Louise Express. Some community things I admire about the way Banff is designed is the Woonerf (living street) concept being implemented, on Bear St. mainly. Like no curbs, no lane-separation & a not-so-strait road littered with obstacles to make cars question if they should come on that street - making pedestrians comfortable enough to exercise their right of way. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0506.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0507.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/image-10.png) Plus, little things like this pictures, businesses leaving drinking bowls for dogs & birds. Also, the way restaurants have their menus posted outside on a stand or on their window. Affirming the foot traffic they receive & the walkability they promote. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/image-8.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/image-7.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/image-9.png) Or open building designs allowing weather & wildlife to come in. Cocktails at the Fairmont ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0731.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0730.jpeg) It was nice that even if you’re not a guest at the Fairmont you could dine at the Rundle Bar, & get the same experience as the guests. --- ### June 4 - Wednesday Cave & Basin guided by Dr. Dwayne Lepitski — "Good communicative integrity is not good ecological integrity." ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/image-11.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0720-1.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0732-1.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0534-2.jpeg) We learned about the importance of biodiversity & the dire impacts on species human overcrowding can have, once that 'spot' has attained fame/lore around it. It was intriguing learning about the incidents at the Cave & Basins, about how delicate the snails are, & the penalties of breaking the law there. To see someone dedicate their entire career to a places & species was admirable. Farmers Market \- It was cool to start noticing more & more locals in Banff by this time in the trip. Library \- We visited the library in the middle of Banff to making the presentation portion of the final report. It was intriguing how we were in the middle of town but could escape to a place to get work done. It made it feel more like a town over a tourist hub. --- ### June 5 - Thursday Kootenay ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0714.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0606.jpeg) From our Tunnel Mountain 2 we drove down to Radium Hot Springs where made U-turn. As we approached the springs we got to see Goats, Sheeps, & a Black Bear at the side of the highway. They seemed weary of cars yet used to the people stopping to take pictures of them up close, the Bear definitely seemed a little stressed trying to cross the highway. I was surprised to see the fencing bordering along the highway abruptly end once we left Banff National Park & entered Kootenay National Park. It made me wonder why it is not implemented in all National Parks yet. Marble Canyon ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_7830-1.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0739.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0719.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0721.jpeg) Marble Canyon was a beautiful ecosystem/scenery to witness, seeing the power of water erosion over time in one place —walking over it. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0593.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0585.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0597.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0566.jpeg) Paint pots ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/IMG_0727.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/image.jpeg) We also briefly visited Numa Falls & Olive Lake. To admire & hike around. I noticed other tourists at the same sites as us driving down this highway & making the same stops as us (Marble Canyon, Paint pots, Numa Falls, & Olive Lake). --- ### June 6 - Friday Drive home: Pretty soon after joining highway 1 at 6 am in the morning we reached a complete stop for about 20 minutes because a flat deck semi had all of its load spilled on the road, because it was not strapped in properly. Traffic-jammed with no escape from side dirt roads like Winnipeg's perimeter highway, many other cars were doing the same thing. It was an intriguing experience because we got out of the car, walked, stretched & said hello to the other half of the class in the van in front of us. Overpasses, underpasses & fenced highways: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/image-5-1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/image-2.png) It is impressive to see these strategies in play, as you drive down highway 1 for hours upon entering Banff National Park & the fences along the sides of the highway follow you. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/image-1.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/06/image.png) The beautiful overpasses in many stages of passing by over you, and the unnoticeable underpasses under you, hidden until someone or an exhibit tells you. --- > Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources, University of Manitoba > GEOG 4350 - Parks & Protected Areas Planning & Management > Dr. Michael Campbell ### Assignment 3 - Homelands & Regional Landscapes URL: https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/assignment-3-homelands-regional-landscapes/ Last updated: 2025-04-01T18:46:01.000Z ### **Part A:** > **W*rite about your personal meaning and sense of homeland.*** Homeland to me is my memories of growing up in India. The memories of seasons, plants, animals, festivals, colours, noise, food, family, routine, clothes, and at home havan’s making the air smell of fire and camphor. I am reminded of my homeland through my 5 senses especially taste, smell and sight. The different smell of spices in Indian cuisine, the smell/feeling fresh rain brings, or clothes that remind me of India. My personal meaning of homeland, is family time waking up early to spend time together and eat together, no matter where you are. As me and my siblings grow up and get busy in live I miss these mundane moments with my mom and family. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/04/image-22.png) Havan - at home prayer with fire with mantras and herbs (camphor put in the fire). My grandparents did it daily, I miss it because my family doesn't do it anymore unless we go to a temple on a rare occasion. I need to learn the knowledge to practice it myself. Then the feelings start to merge with the things I have falling in love with in Canada like swimming and long dog walks the frigid air of pure winter that refreshes and wakes me up. The memories and environments of the two countries merge in my mind but as I spend too much time away from India I long for it even more. The hardships of living in India doesn't deter this feeling but feeds the curiosity of experiencing these hardships and learning the skills from them. 15 years of longing, and the desire of experiencing and seeing the places from my parents stories, grows. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/04/IMG_9690.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/04/IMG_9691.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/04/IMG_9692.jpeg) This is Darjeeling a hill station town, where my mom lived for a few years during childhood. Her stories of Darjeeling make me want to live there. In 2022 I went backpacking in Costa Rica and the similarities of Costa Rica to India made me realize how much I missed my homeland. These similarities made start talking in Hindi more with my family and me relive my memories of India: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/04/IMG_9694.webp) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/04/IMG_9693-1.webp) Through the tropical fruit (especially custard apple and sugar cane), because I had a custard apple tree in my backyard in India and used to get sugar cane in the summer from the market, to chew raw or to juice to make a refreshing summer drink. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/04/image-2.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/04/image-5.png) Costa Rica \[left\] - Tuk Tuk's and street side businesses. India \[right\] - Ricksha's. The busy streets noises of San Jose, Costa Rica remind me of India. The type of taxi's in Costa Rica (Tuk Tuk) look exactly like the ones in India, except in India they are called Ricksha. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/04/image-7.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/04/image-8.png) Street side vendors, Costa rica versus Indian Dhaba's. The greenery of forests, tall trees, and the colourful creatures thriving in the hot humid weather, and the constant rain worthy of an actual monsoon season in Costa Rica, reminds me of the monsoon season in India. I remember I loved playing with touch-me-not plants we had at home as a kid in India, and I got to play with it again in Costa Rica as an adult. It reminded me of my memories with this plant in my homeland. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/04/image-11.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/04/image-12.png) Gallo pinto (rice and beans), and Indian food. Both countries use banana leaves as plates in certain parts of the country. I eat rice and beans/lentils a lot as a Indian, so gallo pinto made me feel at home. Returning to Winnipeg after Costa Rica made me miss India more. Making me do things that make me feel closer to my homeland, like indulging Indian movies, music, festivals, making more Indian friends. Seek out events where I can wear cultural clothes, or even find comfortable cultural outfits to wear at home. I think we carry a sense of homeland where ever we go, I carry my homeland through beliefs, values, spices, unique kitchen utensils, home decor, plants and clothes. These things allow me to miss my homeland a little less as I try and adapt to my new environment, but the farther and longer I am away from it the more curious I am about my homeland. ### **Part B:** > Provide your reasoned **opinion** of the following statement**:** > “Regions are subjective artistic devices, and they must be shaped to fit the hand of the individual user. There can be no standard definition of a region, and there can be no universal rules for recognizing, delimiting, and describing regions" (Hart 1982). I agree with Hart's statement, that anyone viewing a region could describe and perceive it differently the definition of a region would be subjective, based on the describers imagination, experience on the region and the time given to describe/paint the picture about the region. Like how I describe Costa Rican region in this assignment based on my experiences, that I think fit into the picture I am trying to describe. Also, my perspective on Costa Rica can be greatly different compared to professionals or the local people of the region, because of our experiences, background, language and time spent in the region. Regions can also be ever changing, as new development is made in the country, political shifts, or if the change that can occur as a country becomes a developed country from a undeveloped country, or physical changes natural disasters and wars brings to a region. Also, the immigration of different people to a region can change the region in different ways as different people have unique ways of life, values, and their desire/longing to replicate their homeland in their new region. Making us see places like China town and little Italy within cities. I disagree on the statement that "there can be no standard definition of a region", because there sometimes needs to be an agreement upon the definition of a region to move forward with a discussion, like landscapes, climate zones, and watersheds. A baseline on the definition of a region allows us to make more informed and applicable decisions, like policy-making, scientific study, borders, governance, economic decisions, and ecological practices. Creatively and perspectively I think it is good to have artistic flexible descriptions of regions. All though for comparative analysis, communication, and decision making I think there needs to be a standard definition of a region. ### **Part C:** > Provide a **factual** statement on the following topic: > The regional geography of any one region in Latin America ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/04/image-16.png) Costa Rica is small region compared to other countries yet it one of the most biodiverse rich place on earth with 5% of the world's biodiversity. You can experience the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean within the same country. Looking at the map you would think it doesn’t take that long to get from one coast to the other, but it takes quite a while since the roads are not great winding around mountainous curvy terrain. All these factors contribute to a great foggy hilly view and slow commute though. The country has active and dormant volcanoes surrounded by rainforests, and the people try to embody the saying Pura Vida (pure life). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/04/image-18.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/04/image-21.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/04/image-20.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/04/image-19.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/04/image-15.png) For its cultural elements was colonized by the Spanish, and currently it is a hot spot for tourism and expats moving to Costa Rica from the USA. This tourism and increase in population for the country comes with environmental as people use up the countries resources and deforest to make more spaces for people. This has already change the country in some ways like most people will accept USA currency instead of the local Costa Rican Colón. Also, the fact you can get by with speaking English in Costa Rica because you'll easily find a person speaking it or some menu's in English. From a chat with the hostel worker when I couldn’t sleep on the day I had to fly back home. I learned about the tensions between Nicaragua and Costa Rica like the migration of Nicaraguans to Costa Rica to seek refuge from political/economical tensions in Nicaragua has lead to xenophobic sentiments towards Nicaraguans in Costa Rican society. It has been a few years so, I can't complete remember what the Nicaraguan receptionist told me but he talked about his journey to Costa Rica and seemed envious of Costa Rica's tourism industry. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/04/IMG_9689-2.jpeg) A Costa Rica sunset✨ A notable thing in living in Costa Rica is being in harmony with all the other creature that are there. For example, your body automatically wakes you because of the sounds of all the creatures in the nearby forest that are waking up with the sunrise. I remembered asking a local Costa Rican friend what the bug bite I woke up with on my arm was, but he didn't know and self reflected that "I'm so used to always having bug bites that I don't even notice them anymore". He was so used to having them and waking up with them that it was a norm for him. This shows the abundance of life in Costa Rica, that the smallest of creatures are fighting and defending for space and resources. I am sure the bugs that bit/irritated my skin were quite small, but here is a video of bigger vibrant bugs I captured. The vibrancy of the biodiversity is amazing, it must be fun to be a biologist in Costa Rica. --- > Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources, University of Manitoba > GEOG 2630: Geography of Culture and Environment > Dr. Olga Shugurova ### Assignment 2 - Cultural Landscape URL: https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/assignment-2-cultural-landscape/ Last updated: 2025-03-02T01:42:42.000Z ### **Part A:** > Explain what landscapes teach us about our human-nature relationships. For example, you may consider the following questions: How do people bring the elements of nature into their built environment and why? What elements of nature do they include in the landscape and why? What elements do they exclude and why? What cultural values and ideas do these landscapes or this landscape reflect? **\- Plus other…** I think humans are deeply intertwined with nature, and we use it to nourish ourselves in many ways, like food, medicine, and design (mental health). The landscapes we see around us shed a light on how people use that space and the human-nature relationships that environment has nurtured. I will be drawing from my past experiences in life about places that have made me admire and feel allured by nature or its cultural environment. I have a lot to learn learn about my Indian roots, having moved away from India at a young age. Of the few memories I can can recall from childhood these remind me of cultural landscapes I noticed around me: ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/03/86f2c36fbc53406c683ba7aed61399a6.jpg) I remember asking my mom the names of spices and vegetables in Hindi and English as she cooked and I sat on the counter. Or the time my mom got slightly mad at me because I acted on my impulsive urge to shake the spice box - mixing all the spices together. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/03/IMG_9576.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/03/IMG_9577.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/03/IMG_9578.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/03/IMG_9579.jpeg) These are pictures of my home in Indian, we were taking photos on the Terrace. I remember the way my home was made of concrete and we would open our windows for fresh air, or how I would try to sneak away to the terrace during monsoon season to feel the rain hit my skin, even though I was warned/urged to come inside, in fears of catching a cold. On this memory/feeling I wrote [this essay](https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/a-day-with-many-hues/): ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/03/image-3.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-02-28-at-9.54.48-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-02-28-at-9.53.29-PM.png) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/03/1572954837174_A_tulsi_Vrindavan_completes_your_home_learn_its_importance_and_benefits.jpg) A practice in some followed by some Hindu household's is to plant a Tulsi (holy basil) plant in front their home, that they look after/pray to daily. It is believed to bring positivity, luck, and prosperity to the home. Tulsi also symbolizes purity/devotion and is seen as the manifestation of the goddess Lakshmi. I think this ritual that many people follow is rooted in tradition/culture, and it can form a cultural landscape around someones home. Since they care/worship that deeply for a plant daily, they may fall in love with the process of gardening and grow their at home collections of plants. Another is the school I attend in India and it community based layout, centred around a open-roof courtyard. This open space brought in so much light and was even more magical when it was pouring rain and people could stand on the outskirts seeking shelter from the rain. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/03/image.png) I don't remember the roof being there when I was attend this school in the early 2000's, I think they covered it so that the space could still be used during monsoon season. The school was founded in 1961 and my dad, his siblings, and his kids grew up attending it. I believe it is a well designed space, with lots of natural light, and a court yard that serves multiple purposes. I remember we used to have school assembly, theatre play's, and recess here. I cannot remember if we used to sing the national anthem in the courtyard daily or in our classrooms. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/03/download.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/03/Courtyard-House-Plans.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/03/download--1-.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/03/b1e82e9e4cc53412e7731d17208bcc9f.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/03/101860_79197.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/03/ssss.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/03/images.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/03/download--2-.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/03/oooo.jpg) Spaces centred around a courtyard. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/03/f75a7a568d82642604085dffa7ae20bc-1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/03/27-courtyard-house-kertomenanggal-1-1.webp) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/03/The-courtyard-model-with-natural-ventilation-and-vegetation-1.png) These types of courtyards in housing or public buildings are a popular design in India, they help provide natural cooling/light/ventilation, privacy, nature and a sense of community. A nice escape from hot humid Indian weather. This open courtyard space serves a multitude of purposes, connecting humans to the natural elements occurring outside, allowing nature right into the centre of the home. Often building the home around the courtyard like it is the 'soul' of the home. It also makes a great inviting space to hold gathering and to practice culture/traditions (like Havan -prayers held around a fire). If I had a courtyard in my home, it would be my go to spot to do everything, especially garden, watch the rain or dancing in it. I think these communal courtyards foster a social collaborative cultural environment. Indian households tend to live in joint families so this environment serves them well. You may have noticed the Tulsi plant outside the main entrance of these 2 home tour videos. I think the cultural values and ideas these landscape reflect is community, family, tradition and history. This type of building design is old and with all the perks it brings, it makes sense why it has survived so long. I think the idea behind the design of this space is to build around a heart/base of nature that we are all inherently connected to. A space everyone is drawn to creating a natural hotspot for connection with each other, nature, and tradition. ### **Part B:** > Provide your reasoned **opinion** of the following statement**:** > ‘What might have been?’ is one of the most interesting questions that historical cultural geographers might consider asking when conducting studies of landscape change. ‘What might have been?’ Is a question that one can easily get lost in especially in the topics of history and climate change. An archaeologist likely ponders on wishing for more evidence lost throughout time so that they could paint a better picture of life in that era. Or any person wondering what might have been if climate change did not occur, what landscapes/species would still be here and not forever lost before discovered, like some coral reefs or deep ocean spieces. This question is also fun to consider in aspects of communities mixing, like what if a Chinese community instead of British colonists came to North America, how would the landscape look different? What fusion of Indigenous and Chinese cultures (food, building, traditions, etc.) would exist today? Since our would is so globalized I wonder if this fusion people/cultures is good for nature, because we all have different ways of doing the same things. Allthough locals have the advantage of time knowing what works in harmony with their environment, I hope local specifc knowledge is not lost in this “fusion” and landscapes stay unique and win against the popular culture that comes with globalization. The answers to the question ‘What might have been?’ can be endless, like: if these people had not moved here, or brought disease with them, if genetically modified seeds did not exist, if that train track had not been built there, and if that natural disaster did not happen... the landscape would have been some other way. I think this question is a important question to ask when conducting studies of landscape change because it can help analize the history, migration, construction, policy/law or other influences on the place that contributed to the landscape changing in a certain way. ### **Part C:** > Provide a **factual** statement on the following topic: The changing Prairie landscape, from about 1500 to the present. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-03-01-at-12.23.16-PM.png) Actual prairie landscape versus popular belief (most people think the prairies are naturally flat, because that is what we see when we drive down highways). Growing up in the prairies my perception of this was broken just last year, and if I wasn't studying the environment I don't know if this perception would ever have been broken... When thinking about the how the Prairie landscape has changed from 1500 to the present, what stands out to me is the loss of Wetland habitats. ["Manitoba has lost **40% to 70%** of these wetlands since the beginning of European settlement".](https://www.gov.mb.ca/sd/water/groundwater/riparian%5Fareas/index.html?ref=aasthavkapoor.com#:~:text=Manitoba%20has%20lost%2040%25%20to,margins%20of%20rivers%20and%20lakes.) Wetlands are important riparian areas that filter/buffer water purifying/slowing the runoff of water, recharge the water table, erosion prevention, carbon sinks, and maintain unique prairie biodiversity. Manitoba is the most abundant in wetland habitats in Canada, but we also face rapid loss of wetlands, as farmers drain wetlands into ditches or bigger bodies of water, so they save time by not driving their machinery around the wetlands on their properties. This issue first came on my radar when I attended a University of Manitoba Wetlanders club meeting. Learning about the importance of wetlands/riparian areas and how many acres of wetland habitat is lost every year and their loss has changes the landscape over the decades. On the hopeful side, I learned of the programs Duck Unlimited does with farmers across the prairies to incentivize framers not to drain the wetland habitat on their properties. **I could not find the video that showed wetland loss occurring over the decades in the prairies*. One of the programs Duck Unlimited offers. [Link.](https://ag.ducks.ca/program/restore-wetlands/?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/03/75AnniversaryMap_low-scaled.webp) Good preservation work being done. Hope. The loss of wetland habitats speaks to our human-nature relationship, where the culture/social norm is to keep making revenue and the environment is just another resource to achieve that goal. Our values have forgotten the importance of working with nature to attain the same goals. People don’t know/remember the benefits of leaving the natural landscape intact. ### Bibliography: - Bartzen, Blake A., et al. “Trends in Agricultural Impact and Recovery of Wetlands in Prairie Canada.” *Ecological Applications*, vol. 20, no. 2, 2010, pp. 525–38, https://doi.org/10.1890/08-1650.1. - [Wetlands and Riparian Areas](https://www.gov.mb.ca/sd/water/groundwater/riparian%5Fareas/index.html?ref=aasthavkapoor.com#:~:text=Manitoba%20has%20lost%2040%25%20to,margins%20of%20rivers%20and%20lakes.) > Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources, University of Manitoba > GEOG 2630: Geography of Culture and Environment > Dr. Olga Shugurova ### Assignment 1 - Human Nature Relationship URL: https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/assignment-1/ Last updated: 2026-05-09T18:03:00.000Z ### **Part A:** > Reflect on your human-nature relationship. You may want (may not, which depends on your approach to this essay) consider the following questions: What are your personal ideas and beliefs about nature? How are your personal beliefs and ideas shaped by your cultural worldviews? ​How do these personal/cultural beliefs and ideas impact your everyday behavior? People’s life experiences, cultural worldviews, and education about nature can affect their ideas and beliefs about the things they consume in their lives. I will be analyzing my life experiences, on how they have shaped my decision-making to be less impactful on nature. Most of my experiences that contribute to my human-nature relationship positively, have been shaped by culture (homelife), education (university) and media (documentaries, YouTube, movies and shows): - I thrift where I can, and try to be cautious about purchasing material things by waiting on the decision for a while, and I am excited to try and live a more zero-waste. I enjoy going to the Salvation Army thrift stores and Plato's Closet thrift stores. I like picking up litter when I see it. This started after I saw a show called "Years & Years" which follows a family over the years as they face things we hope for in the future and the things that we fear regarding climate change. The show left me feeling that I should be doing things in the present and not pushing them to the future, or thinking things like: "That's not my litter", "Oh, it won't happen in my lifetime", "Disasters aren't happening in my area so it's not like 'I' can do anything". - As a young woman feeling uncomfortable with my changing body and not enjoying products (pads or tampons) that were presented to me. This made me open to trying new products, so after seeing an advertisement for a reusable menstrual cup on Snapchat, and though a $40 purchase was expensive for my 16-year-old self, I spontaneously bought it.Looking back it was my first eco-friendly purchase. It has been a good investment in my life so far because menstrual cups last 5-10 years in the past 8 years I have only spent $80 on them, and it is estimated that women [“spend up to $6000 on menstrual products in their lifetime”](https://www.ourcommons.ca/documentviewer/en/44-1/FEWO/report-8/page-39?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) which is about 40 years of having periods. Based on I will likely be spending less than the average woman on menstruation products. Also according to Sharma & Rawat (2023) menstrual cups’ [“**affordability, less environmental impact, and favorable health consequences”**](https://doi.org/10.17762/jaz.v44iS6.2024?ref=aasthavkapoor.com)trumps one-time-use products like pads and tampons. Since the lifecycle of pads and tampons [“pollutes water bodies and landfills, leading to microplastics and other environmental and health hazards”](https://www.sei.org/features/qa-understanding-the-environmental-impacts-of-menstrual-health-and-hygiene-practices/?ref=aasthavkapoor.com#:~:text=Primarily%2C%20the%20prevalent%20use%20of,other%20environmental%20and%20health%20hazards.). - Education/studying this topic is going to educate me on the environmental impacts of my choices, so I hope I will make even better choices in the future that help the planet. I am interested in trying out activism and sharing the knowledge I learn. During the start of my studies in environmental/geography path at university, I took an online [permaculture design certificate (PDC).](https://www.ecoversity.org/online-live-permaculture-design-certification?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) This PDC course made me hopeful and sure about my choice of studies because at university we mainly focus on all the issues facing nature/Earth (which makes the future seem a little doom and gloom), but the PDC course was refreshing because it said we know about the problems of climate change lets focus on the solutions. The course taught me to be hopeful and to dream, I would like to implement the things I learned in this course into my life. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/02/IMG_4646-1.JPG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/02/IMG_4649.JPG) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/02/IMG_5593-1.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/02/tempImageJKc78Q.gif) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/02/IMG_9499.JPG) My love for the outdoors started from having two dogs at a young age, it created my joy for hiking and exploring new experiences in nature. I was born into an Indian vegetarian family, and a few years ago I discovered veganism because of this YouTube video. The video convinced me to be vegan after presenting the suffering and environmental damage behind animal products. This plant-based transition wasn't too difficult since Indian food is naturally a lot of vegetables, lentils, beans, rice, and grains. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-01-31-at-9.00.38-PM-1.png) I grew up watching my mom make a lot of things from scratch, and buying fresh vegetables instead of canned goods wherever she could. So I feel like this has impacted the choices I make when I step into the grocery store. As I learn more about the soil and permaculture, my desire to live a regenerative/balanced lifestyle grows, I am interested in aligning my career with the environment to give back to nature in some way. My ideas and beliefs about nature are that we should respect nature and replace the damage we cause so that Earth can continue to support life. This is hard because nature doesn't have a voice, meaning it is hard to feel regret when we harm nature, so it is important to advocate and hold everyone/companies accountable by making everyone's actions transparent in the damage they cause. I believe we can vote with our money to create the change we wish to see. I feel that we are disconnected from nature today because we rarely know the entire lifecycle of the products we consume and marketing blurs this line further. I think that everyone's unique experiences in life shape the choices they make in life so if everyone had more experiences and education on nature, it could be a step in the right direction. ### **Part B:** > Provide your reasoned opinion of the following statement**:** > All of our human actions are to be understood primarily if not exclusively with reference to the physical world of climate, landforms, soils, and vegetation. I believe this statement to be true because humans have a profound impact on the environment around us and globally especially because of how industrialized and globalized the world has become today. The smallest plastics, clothes and products we consume stay in our lives for a short amount of time and the creation and disposal of these materials can end up anywhere. Like microplastics in our waterways and food. A bad sewage system impacts the soil and vegetation. Landforms change due to the demand for foods or goods made from trees, and more deforestation due to monoculture farms, human land demand or cities expanding. Landforms also change due to city demand like, hydro energy affecting the way a river flows. Unclean energy use and non-renewable resources create greenhouse gases and in general, can alter Earth's balanced systems. Examples of unclean non-renewable energy, are the use of fossil fuel (natural gas to heat houses, crude oil and petrol to power vehicles, plastics as the byproducts of fossil fuels), coal made from trees, and nuclear energy. Agriculture and animal agriculture can also degrade the soils, landforms, vegetation, and physical world of climate (by releasing methane from animal agriculture, methane is a greenhouse gas that affects climate change. Also, all the chemicals we use today without knowing their full impacts on human and environmental health are/have likely affected our, soils and vegetation because of runoff. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/02/image.png) Our odd urban planning that creates concrete jungles and runoff hotspots is probably not helping our soils retain water and nutrients. Slowly just letting the wind and water erosion carry away all the nutrients from our soils. Single-use plastics and the clothing waste resulting from fast fashion are affecting the planet (landforms, soils, and vegetation), and it is probably affecting the physical world of climate as the discard of fossil fuel these products are made from decomposes into the environment/oceans and seeps into the different animal food chains, and waterways. The oceans are being abused with landscapes of garbage patches from this single-use human lifestyle. ### **Part C:** > Provide a factual statement on the following topic: > Environmental problems in any one Asian country ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/02/hq720.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/02/images-2.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2025/02/water_polution_bangladesh_image1.jpg.webp) My opinion: Bangladesh has a polluted air quality and landscape to prove the environmental damage outcome of fast fashion and single-use plastics. It is an example of developed countries selling their garbage to developing countries. > Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources, University of Manitoba > GEOG 2630: Geography of Culture and Environment > Dr. Olga Shugurova ### Public Space Essay: The Forks URL: https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/public-space-essay-the-forks/ Last updated: 2026-05-09T17:56:34.000Z ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2024/11/Screenshot-2024-11-29-at-8.23.41-AM.png) Approximately located at 1 Forks Market Rd, Winnipeg, MB R3C 4L8, approximately because it is a 25.3-hectare/62.5-acre property. Which is currently used as a public space. This image contains the ****basic layout**. > **Bibliography** is in the form of clickable links in-text, at the end of a paragraph or within a sentence \[indicated by being underlined & purple\]. > *Information is presented through images (sourced from Google Images), writing, and videos.* ### History: productions & uses The Forks is located exactly where it is because of the abundant resources of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers joining, and it has witnessed many historical events of Canadian history. British colonists arrived 1734-present but The Forks has had the presence of the indigenous tribes for 6000 years/4000 B.C.E. they had been using it as a trading hub to gather provisions & as a spot to rest between seasonal migrations from northern forests to southern plains before the colonists arrived. This is the reason why the colonists built Fort Rouge near The Forks, to learn to be permanent residents & take advantage & of a place that has deep roots in beings the centre of trade and exploration. The Forks is at the nucleus of Winnipeg & it is the hearth that spread the dispersion of the colonial settlements in the prairies. Paragraph [source](https://www.theforks.com/uploads/bibliographies/2007-ParksCanada-The%5FForks%5FManagement%5FPlan.pdf?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) page 9. --- [Timeline](http://parkscanadahistory.com/publications/forks/index.htm?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) of different powers using [The Forks](https://www.theforks.com/about/the-forks?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) after colonists arrived: 1\. Fur Trade \[<1870\] - Hudson’s Bay Company 1. Post-Fur Trade & Settlement \[1870–1900\] - Canadian Pacific Railway - major railway development interconnecting the world 1. Government of Canada \[[1850-1900](https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/mb/forks/culture/histoire-history/transition?ref=aasthavkapoor.com)\] - Obtained The Forks lands by signing **Treaty 1** with Cree & Ojibway 1. Industrial & Commercial Development \[1900–1970s\] - Grand Trunk Pacific Railway - rise in transportation 1. Heritage & Renewal Efforts \[1980s–2000s\] - Building public space, archaeological impact studies & heritage monitoring were done bring back culture 1. Cultural and Recreational \[2000s–Present\] - Canadian Museum for Human Rights \[2003-2014\] --- Making indigenous peoples (IPs) sign **treaties** they didn't understand has resulted in generations/centuries of suffering, displacement, social injustices, [environmental racism](https://www.lwic.org/environmentalracism?ref=aasthavkapoor.com), & human right violations for IPs that still continue today. Example of environmental racism tied to present day: - [Shoal Lake 40](https://www.lwic.org/environmentalracism?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) IPs \[1991– 2021\]: Winnipeg's drinking water comes from here yet the indigenous community living right next to Shoal Lake did not have road access or clean water to use and were under boil advisory. Local IPs were put on the back burner over the city of Winnipeg, even though the live right next to the lake, the problem was [solved in 2021](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/shoal-lake-40-first-nation-drinking-water-advisory-1.6176167?ref=aasthavkapoor.com). This case says a lot about the government & people in power even in modern day, because it took them 30 years to solve a problem, and only solved it after there was public activism around the issue. When they likely have known about the issue for decades because the Shoal Lake IPs must have written to the government about their water problem. Also, painting the reputation of IPs in a negative manner has an massive impact on the way society perceives IPs. In a anti-black encouraged society Nova scotia Africville's black residents were discriminated against \[via: environmental hazards, displacing the residents by taking their property, not providing them with proper housing & not paying the residents the true cost of their land\] - Reputation example: I have personally heard comments about people around me not understanding why they need to pay more in taxes to provide for IPs, because IPs add nothing to society and just abuse substances. People do not try to understand why IPs are more likely to end up in these negative lifestyles, reasons like IPs not having proper environments to thrive. Also the fact that we are immigrants on their land and if we were actually to pay the true cost of the land/treaties colonists conned IPs out of, it would be pennies compared to taxes we pay. Though it can be argued that this tax and payment should be the government/crown's responsibility since this is their doing. But, I also think too much aid in the form of direct money maybe bad because people don't respect things if they haven't worked hard for it. I hope we give the treaty lands back to IPs, but it seems unrealistic because there is so much money and profit for the people involved. Also, so many generations of landlord-ship have taken place, that are not even linked to the colonists. IPs in Canada and The Forks are likely still treated differently because of these biases and stereotypes. I believe there should be better designs, resources, environments and incentives set to pull IPs into educating themselves to learn laws and recognize injustice. Technology and the ease of modern activism is good in this aspect, that IPs can no longer suffer in isolation and have their voices silence, because they can gather support easily via the internet and force the government’s hand into action like Shoal Lake. --- ### Media representations: The Government of Canada [website](https://parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/mb/forks/culture/histoire-history?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) for The Forks National Historic Site advertises the in-depth history of The Forks from 1734-present and only mentions a short paragraph about indigenous peoples using The Forks since 6000 years ago. This seems like a injustice to indigenous peoples as their long 6000 year history over the short 300 year colonial one, is not even given the importance more than 3 sentences. The different tribes from different regions are given the courtesy of being named, instead they are mentioned as First Nations' groups. This shows the deep rooted assimilation of trying to hide the historical importance and presence this site held for the livelihood of indigenous peoples. I suppose I am doing the same injustice right now by not mentioning all the tribes present/active in The Forks area before 1734, the only information I can find is the current indigenous peoples \[Cree, Ojibway, Dakota, Ojibway-Cree and Dene\] present in Manitoba. Not enough investigation and journalism has been done to learn about indigenous history before 1734\. We need to do this soon before more information is lost through generations, because this is a from of assimilation as future generations forget what they are owed or what wronged them. The government will feel less entitled to pay to IPs because they are no longer fighting because the cannot remember what they have lost. Another way the government does not show appreciation is language because there are no indigenous languages as official languages. This will also likely not change because language is one of the biggest assimilation tactics because once people start thinking in the same languages as colonists they are easier to control because they now have the same values, and will slowly assimilate into the wider population as parents stop passing down culture/language. It is the start of how a language dies --- ### Current use & personal experiences: The Forks is filled with communal areas and activities like the following, plus others that I haven't included pictures of like boating, skate parks, festivals and community gatherings (pride parade, folklorama, & etc.). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2024/11/_MG_1663-3.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2024/11/7247193432_60911355cc_b-1.jpg) The overarching theme I feel when I go to The Forks Market is community/socializing/gatherings and Canadian tourism there are a few gift shop for The Forks, Winnipeg, and Canada marketed items (post cards, clothing mugs). The Forks Market has a lot of unique shops for food and retail, it is a hub for tourism and locals as well, a building to get warm in, freshen up, gather and eat. When I go early in the **morning* for run club meet ups, I see old couples or old people with their friends or by themselves, gathered here for **morning* coffee and baked goods - the old people are very cute & makes me thing this is how I want to be when I am their age. On the **weekends* and **evenings* it is brimming & busiest with people socializing, especially if the weather is nice or perfect for skating (cold with no winds). ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2024/11/Screenshot-2024-11-29-at-10.03.31-AM.png) Study area inside The Forks Market: I have gone here a few times in the weekday to study, and I noticed Winnipeg locals meeting here for group projects/study sessions. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2024/11/1.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2024/11/5.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2024/11/3.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2024/11/9.jpg.webp) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2024/11/7.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2024/11/4.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2024/11/2.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2024/11/8.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2024/11/6---Oodena-Celebration-Circle-lR.jpg) In the summer time I have also gone to the forks to study on the patio furniture outside The Forks Market or the grass, there are a lot of green spaces to choose from. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2024/11/article-324.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2024/11/a.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2024/11/images.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2024/11/attraction-20-photo.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2024/11/OpeningDay_TheForks-4-2.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2024/11/b.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2024/11/forksheader_1_1100_594_90.jpg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2024/11/c.jpg) Winter at The Forks still brings community like skating on the river, ice sculptures and lights. The Forks attracts all kinds of people its visitors are multicultural, local, and foreign. The Provencher Bridge: There are many run club meets at The Forks in the *mornings*, they meet up at The Forks Market and go running around The Forks. It is a good way to familiarize yourself with the area, running in this public space has helped me memorize its layout and the surrounding area of The Forks. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2024/11/IMG_5878-1.jpeg) Picture taken by me. The run clubs I go to meet on Saturday’s at 8am at The Forks Market & Wednesday’s in front of the Human Rights building/museum. The run clubs continue all year round not even stopping for Winter! --- ### My opinions on The Forks: Currently when I go to The Forks I feel good because of running clubs and social gatherings I have gone to there. It is easy to lose perspective at The Forks the perspective of its origins because it is a well maintain site because it is a tourist hub. Canada probably doesn't want to leave a bad impression on foreigners. I think The Forks could use a indigenous touch in whatever way they want to represent themselves, and I think that after that The Forks could use more of a multicultural touch like different ethnic shops not shops that are just catered towards tourism. My mind only drifts to thinking about the indigenous origins of the site when I saw indigenous protestors of the red dress movement camping in tents between the Human Rights Museum and The Provencher Bridge. It made me curious and a little afraid for my safety, but happy that these people were spreading awareness for missing and murdered indigenous girls and women. I have yet to visit the Human Rights Museum and wonder if the history of The Forks is accurately represented there, no matter how controversial or horrible the crimes, because I think a country should share there mistakes so that future generations can learn from them and not make the same mistakes. Also, the Museum would be a good spot for field trips for kids, I remember having field trips to The Forks as a kid and I can only recall the single train cart filled with candy in the parking lot of The Forks Market, which has now been converted to a bicycle shop. It would be cool if the kids learn the history of The Forks interactively at the Human Rights Museum, like they do at the Manitoba Children's Museum with trains, so that they could learn to appreciate the land and its original stewards. --- ### Interview: With my Manager Amanda at work. These videos contain parts of our casual talk about The Forks. ****Fact check:** By the Human Rights museum there were 2 Ukrainian immigrants one got attacked because of bumping into 1 of the 4 boys in a group \[aged 15-21\]. The injured Ukrainian was bear sprayed and stabbed in the neck twice. The victims/immigrants feel like moving from Winnipeg and reconsidering whether Canada is a safe country. You can read more about this incident [here](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/forks-stabbing-witnesses-ukraine-refguees-1.6509368?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) & for the most recent update you can read [this](https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2024/11/15/judge-sentences-ukrainian-newcomers-canada-day-2022-attacker?ref=aasthavkapoor.com). The Forks ideal location has make it a thriving provider to its inhabitants for 1000s of years - for migration, colonists settlements, fur trade, train transportation, or immigration. Then after the rehabilitation effort of making The Forks a Historical Site the renewal team has transformed The Forks into a thriving public space, that brings a lot of tourism 4 million visitors every year & ["contributes $126 million a year to the local economy, and is financially self-sufficient, & doesn't rely on government funding to operate."](https://www.theforks.com/about/the-forks?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) The Forks does this by focusing on aspects like reconciliation with indigenous peoples, historical preservation, and environmental sustainability. It is taking the right steps to bring awareness to the harm done to IPs & reconsolidate with IPs. > **Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources, University of Manitoba** > GEOG 2640: Geography of Culture and Inequality > Dr. Olga Shugurova ### Critical Analysis of a Film: Om Shanti Om URL: https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/critical-analysis-of-a-film-om-shanti-om/ Last updated: 2026-05-09T17:55:15.000Z ## Summary The film is a masterpiece that takes place mostly on movie sets because the main characters Om (a small-time actor) and Shanti (a famous actress) work in the movie industry, many settings and social disparities are used to invoke feelings within the viewers. Om & Shanti falling in love with each other one-sidedly in 2 lifetimes. In their first life: Om & Shanti's first hangout as friends, Om wishes it is something more but it is only a friendship for Shanti. The story follows the incomplete romance from their first life into their reincarnated second life, where after regaining their memories, they plot a grand plot to get a confession out of the guy that killed them in their first life. Their killer (Mukesh) is a movie director who got Shanti pregnant in her first life. When she asked him for marriage, he burnt her and his unborn child alive to hide the scandal, in a movie set that he made for her new movie because he wanted to marry someone more influential to further his directing career. Om is mad in love with Shanti and tries to save her from the outside of the locked burning building, but the bodyguards beat him to death for getting in the way. A small-time actor falls in love with a famous actress but he doesn't know she is committed to another, who will betray her. ## I**nequality, geographical representation & power** The main inequality of the movie is how insignificant Mukesh thinks Shanti is, that he thinks it is okay to go to any extreme if someone gets in the way of his career. The climax of Shanti’s death is perfectly built, some geographical representations used to portray the wealthy life they could have had together is the beautiful expensive set Mukesh takes Shanti to the set to tell her that the set will also be their wedding venue but soon goes on to explain that everything was going great but saddens him to kill her and burn the set because they were going to be at the top of the industry after this film together but she ruined his timeline because she wants to marry him and is pregnant. The fire/music during this betrayal symbolizes the evilness and pain of the untouchable unforgiving fire that creates a great obstacle for Om to deal with to save Shanti and the night symbolizes the cover of darkness to get away with crimes, the helplessness of having no public around to ask for help because it is nighttime. The easiness of erasing 2 lives because they are too powerless to stop it. It stands out that the power dynamics in the film are related to being influential, a man, fame, the kinds of parents you have, or how your job is viewed in society. A tune to give you goosebumps. --- ## Other In Indian films, I also love the use of songs sprinkled throughout the film. I especially love it when they are used as a montage to further the development of the characters, and it is always a bonus when the song pulls at your heartstrings for being so good. The plot of this film can be told through the songs in it. An example is this song, where Om has put on a play of how the first Om and Shanti died, for Mukesh 30 years later to rejog his memories: Interestingly, there are movie sets within the film, and it allowed the director to be creative, like making the viewers imagine a camera crew filming a camera crew or having a song/party filled with cameos of famous Indian actors, because Om in his second life is a famous actor. Here is the song: There is a beautiful overlap in many parts of this film, like the title of the movie reminds me of the reincarnation that takes place in the film, and the hopes and desires of the first life taking shape in the second life by ‘coincidence’ of Om being reborn as a famous actor with the help of having a famous actor dad; or ‘intentionally’ where the Om uses the details of the wedding venue 30 years later to haunt on Mukesh of his crimes. It's satisfying to notice all the overlaps in the movie, it is the only movie I can rewatch and I notice new connections in it every time. I hope reading this has made you curious enough to watch it. I would love to know your thoughts on it. > Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources, University of Manitoba > GEOG 2640: Geography of Culture and Inequality > Dr. Olga Shugurova ### Inaction URL: https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/inaction/ Last updated: 2025-08-26T17:15:20.000Z _This post is for subscribers only._ ### Response Action URL: https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/response-action/ Last updated: 2025-08-26T17:05:07.000Z The source of my immense growth is my persistence to challenge my thought processes and the actions I take because of these thoughts. I feel like it all started after I read *The New Earth* (I will never read another non-fiction because of this book), it changed my way of thinking, made me realize I had an ego when I thought I didn't, and that **everyone** has an ego. This book made me more present, made me focus on the present little daily actions, analyzing my thought process & why I was feeling whatever feeling it was. The universe further sent me an expansion to this information, when I had a lecture about limiting beliefs in my permaculture class. That day was amazing, it made me analyze the "shy" label I had put on myself for decades; the day made me realize that I didn't want this shy label to be attached to my personality any longer. This made me see shyness as a problem I needed to solve. So every time I noticed myself taking an **action** because of some reason like "a shy person wouldn't do this, and I am shy". I started to see what I was uncomfortable/afraid of more. These feelings are the signs that I should do these things. Say "yes" to these things and where the growth to who I want to become is at. This is basically what my [jump off of cliffs...](https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/jump-off-of-cliffs/) and the [Yes Theory YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/@YesTheory?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) are about. > So I want to explain to you my concept of the response action we all take. It's very simple. It is the action you take because of a thoaught you have perfect example for me is that "I can not sing in front of people because in the past I have lost my voice because of nerves performing in of new people, being vulnerable and wondering what they might be thinking about me". — This got deep but is a limiting belief of mine and it is linked to my shyness limiting belief that I am trying to eradicate. So the key is to notice the action you usually take after having this limiting belief thought and do the exact opposite. For example, one that I have been practicing recently is turning my music volume up while driving I initially turned it down because I was thinking "oh my, the person next to me is going to hear my music". Like, imagine the limiting beliefs that aren't on our radar, we are just letting ourselves be controlled because of what we think someone else/society is thinking. --- ## Key takeaway: > **Realize** your [limiting beliefs/self-judgments](https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/limiting-beliefs/) \> **notice** the [action response](https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/response-action/) you take to the limiting belief > **do the exact opposite** of the action response you were going to take or already took. **I have also been working on breaking my OCD and perfectionism with this mindset.** Read about the story of my biggest self-judgment, and how it was born. [Here.](www.aasthavkapoor.com/self-judgements/) --- > Journal exercise you can try to **realize** your limiting beliefs/self-judgments: 1. **Reflect** on the limiting beliefs/self-judgments you hold yourself to, your habits, and what you think is a part of your personality. 2. **Choose** which of these judgments are you ready to let go of, and seek some discomfort. Debunking which judgment will bring you closer to the person you want to become? 3. What is your heart telling you? What are some positive affirmations that will serve you? --- ## Previous posts: April 19, 2022 — [Limiting Beliefs](https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/limiting-beliefs/) --- ### Tags: Search in the search bar for more. - [Self-Development✨](https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/tag/self-development/) - [Journal](https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/tag/journal/) ### “Newborns” URL: https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/newborns/ Last updated: 2025-08-26T16:50:35.000Z New ideas/plans are like newborn babies, they need to be protected for them to grow and show their colors. To be prodded and adjusted. Then finally the newborn will be shared with trusted people to learn from these people and further evolve with new information. Very important it is a person that gives honest but encouraging feedback, for you don’t want your “newborn” to die before it has even taken any steps in life. I kept making the same mistake of sharing my newborns with a person who only gave me the negatives of my newborn taking steps. It was so that I could get some support, some approval, some love for this fragile thought/newborn. But at the end of those conversations of negativity, my newborns were snuffed out before they could take another step, along with them a bit of my heart, and my dreaming mind forever left with the feeling of letting that path/newborn slip away. I guess finding the people/environment to nurture your ideas/newborns in are hard to come by. —but I feel that after these lessons of heartbreak, you get a better idea of whom to trust. It is fun at times to gamble and share the idea with strangers. From a stranger's perspective is refreshing & their criticism seems less harsh than when criticism is coming from a loved one. Please just keep taking a few steps in the direction of things you can’t get off your mind, and never stop. --- ### Tags: Search in the search bar for more. - [Journal](https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/tag/journal/) - [Self-development✨](https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/tag/self-development/) ### 5 Beginner Rollerblading Tips URL: https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/beginner-rollerblading-tips/ Last updated: 2026-08-16T21:11:07.000Z > **1\. Stretch** - Stretch before you begin & and whenever you start feeling tense > **2\. Don't look down** - If you look down you will go down! (This is the first piece of advice I got from an experienced skater of 40+ years) Honestly really helped me out when I got right on the skating ring and my speed was a turtle's pace🐢. By the end of the night (about 3 hours) I was going as fast as most of the skaters. Now I just need to learn how to stop instead of falling or skating into people. > **3\. Take breaks** - Take breaks when you start feeling tired or tense please do not keep going. You may be more likely to fall! (This happened to me I felt tired but kept saying one more round in my head because the ring was going to close soon. Then I got distracted, fell backwards, hard with the breath knocked out of me.) - I made a friend on the skate ring floor who has been skating for over 40 years upon observing them I noticed that they took so many breaks! They grooved hard for a few songs, then hopped off the floor and grooved to the music from the sidelines and watched everyone else skate. > **4\. Observe** - When sitting on the side try to observe other skaters and see if you notice any tricks or tricks you want to learn next. > **5\. Ask for help** - Ask others for tips and any other questions that are on your mind like learning a specific technique/trick. You can make friends this way and maybe you will see these people the next time you go rollerblading. ## Here is me Rollerskating for the first time on wheels like these (the side by side wheels like cars 🚗 🛼): > [@ashyaura](https://www.tiktok.com/@ashyaura?ref=aasthavkapoor.com "@ashyaura") > > Try [#rollerblading](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/rollerblading?ref=aasthavkapoor.com "rollerblading") please¿🕺✨ [#musicislife](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/musicislife?ref=aasthavkapoor.com "musicislife") [#skatingvibes](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/skatingvibes?ref=aasthavkapoor.com "skatingvibes") [#sundaynight](https://www.tiktok.com/tag/sundaynight?ref=aasthavkapoor.com "sundaynight") > > [♬ original sound - ashy](https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7100957980383808302?ref=aasthavkapoor.com "♬ original sound - ashy") ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2022/05/IMG_1562.jpeg) I rented myself some skates^^ ### To improve at conversations: URL: https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/to-improve-at-conversations/ Last updated: 2025-08-22T16:33:40.000Z ### What I do currently: - I reply with "that's cool/fun/awesome/etc." when someone shares something with me. It is dismissive and ends that conversation. - I have noticed I use a lot of "I" statementafter somebody shares so that I can talk about my past experiences/what the persons story reminds me of - instead of asking more questions and letting the other person go deeper into their experience/story. ### Solutions: - You could ask more questions and keep that conversation going. Get to know the person more, make them feel like you care about the conversation, and hear what they say. Since you were listening but I feel like these replies just do not show it. - Give more compliments - You can always be a better listener and more in the present moment ### Why do I want to improve? I want to get better at conversations and have more meaningful conversations, that get deep real quick and skip formalities. ### Limiting Beliefs URL: https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/limiting-beliefs/ Last updated: 2025-08-26T16:59:34.000Z The longest self-judgment I have had on myself: > I am shy - I defended it, and made excuses for it might still be, but noticing myself do it is the first step to taking action to bring change to my behavior ### My reasons/excuses: derived from my thought of being shy - I am shy, so that is why I can not sing in front of people - I must not like hugs because I am shy - I am shy, so I have a hard time making friends ^it turned into: "Oh, that is why I am an introvert." I assigned myself other rules/characteristics that are/aren't related to being shy. Reflection: I have had a lot of progress breaking away from this mentality this year, a trip to progress! I think it started when \[I buzzed my hair\], made my analogy of \[jumping off of the cliff of discomfort\] read The New Earth by Eckhart Tolle - Not wanting to do something because "I am shy" -the courage diminishes in me, it is a useless limit I put on myself. It is only as awkward as you make it, even if the other person has some type of negative vibe about them, you can infect them with your enthusiasm! ### In reality: I'm not a shy person at all once I decide to talk to someone and the more I get to know you the more I won't shut up. I will talk over you trying to get every piece of my thought out (a bad habit really because it makes me a bad listener). Because of my first impressions, I was called shy at such a young age, which lead me to attach "shyness" to be part of my personality. My process so far has been that whenever I meet someone new I don't like to talk to them, I like to observe them first, try to sense their vibes, their body language, and just anything I can sense that lets me know what kinda person they are to some level. If their presence makes me really curious, I can't help but get all giddy inside trying to think of ways to talk to them so we can be best of friends. > Upon reading my reflection of this topic I hope eveyone refrains from using negative terms to define a person, like, , shy, dumb, "oh you're not good at 'blank' subject", etc. These broad terms that link up to many other terms they could soon decide to attach to their personality. Like honestly nobody needs you to tell them what they're good at and what they're not good at; they know better then anyone, and they are the hardest critiqe upon themselves. They do not need another thing to creep into their mind they think they are "bad" at. Please just show support that will make a person grow so much, even if they suck at 'blank', it's not you're business to say so, everyone sucks as a begineer. Let them jump off thier cliffs of disocomfort, stop adding spikes along their cliff hindering thier free fall, if you say "no" this js what you're doing. ### The origin story of my shyness label: My nature as a kid had been to be quiet around new people, to observe them before I decide to befriend them and become chatty gradually as I began to trust them. My oldest memory of being called shy is from when I was less than 5 years old by my mom's friend, just because of my initial quietness around new people. I guess at that age when you are trying to absorb all your surrounding information - I learned that quietness is equal to shyness. Since then for 2 decades I identified myself as a "shy" person when I was quite the opposite with my family or a close friend. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2022/12/2ED8AE17-F849-448C-9DFB-332EB18819C0.jpeg) Report card 11/04/03\. I'm still learning vegetables in Hindi >.< ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2023/01/89BF9169-BCA3-4256-BC09-5E8BC6163BED.jpeg) ### Other self-judgments: - that I talk funny because of my teeth - that I am not beautiful because I do not have a thin stomach (visible abs) or the right nose keratosis pilaris I have on my arms via genetics, etc - not being good enough -progress, not growing fast enough - not accepting me as I am - I am bad at sciences (chemistry, physics, biology) just because I did badly in them in high school -when this can not even be a conclusion because my mental health wasn't great then, so I was doing badly in everything. ### Declaration: I forgive myself for having these judgments → to not have judgments for having judgments - AM I READY TO LET GO? - think of more self-judgments! ### Solutions: It is good to bring in an affirmation that eats away at your self-judgments -talk in the mirror, talk to yourself, and love yourself! - We are each unique beings with unique experiences which shape our actions via the information we have in our arsenals ## How you should take action? Journal, like I did above, think of all the self-judgments you impose on yourself. Do you really need them in your life? Are they serving you, or just limits to shatter now that you have acknowledged them as such? > Journal exercise you can try: > **Reflect** on the judgements you hold yourself to, your habits, what you think is apart of your personality. > **Choose** which of these judgements are you ready to let go of, seek some discomfort. Debunking which judgement will bring you closer to the person you want to become? > What is your heart telling you? What are some positive affirmations that will serve you? --- ## Update post: [January 20, 2023](https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/response-action/) — RESPONSE ACTION --- Tags: - [Self-Development✨](https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/tag/self-development/) - [Journal](https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/tag/journal/) ### Ghost: How to make private notes in your posts (at the end or anywhere) for future edits. URL: https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/ghost-how-to-make-private-notes-in-your-posts-at-the-end-or-anywhere-for-future-edits/ Last updated: 2025-08-26T17:18:09.000Z ## What you have been searching for? - Is it possible to add invisible footnotes at the end of blog posts via [Ghost](https://ghost.org/?ref=aasthavkapoor.com)? So that I can use this feature to create reminders to link future blog posts that I haven't written yet? - Throughout the blog post I want to make sections that only I (the author) can see, like notes on what to add to the post. My **make shift prior solution** I was using before I discovered this better versatile way of Code Block: I just make a section at the end of a post for paid-members only, and then put my notes there. # Code block solution [Code block](https://ghost.org/docs/tutorials/code-syntax-highlighting/?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) is more flexible, you can place it anywhere in your post and when you publish the post your readers won't see these personal editorial notes. - Then you can just add a follow-up tag to your post, so you know that you need to come back to the post to add the notes/ideas. ## Summary: > Use a block code: **\`\`\` + enter key** > Then **only** write notes in the **caption area** then press return/enter key. ⭐️*Leave the above area empty.* > Error: the block code disappeared? Press ***⌘Cmd + Z*** and the block code should come back. ***The results***: only you will be able to see the text via [Ghost editor](https://ghost.org/help/using-the-editor/?ref=aasthavkapoor.com). ## Visual examples: - Correct way: steps in Ghost editor ![Screen Shot 2022-03-11 at 4.16.38 PM|690x180](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-11-at-4.16.38-PM.png) ![Screen Shot 2022-03-11 at 4.17.44 PM|690x87](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-11-at-4.17.44-PM.png) ![Screen Shot 2022-03-11 at 4.18.07 PM|690x80](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-11-at-4.18.07-PM.png) ![Screen Shot 2022-03-11 at 4.38.06 PM|690x71](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2022/03/4.png) `**Correct** **way** **example**:` ![Screen Shot 2022-03-11 at 3.54.11 PM|690x169](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2022/03/5-1.png) ****How it will look in Ghost editor.** ![Screen Shot 2022-03-11 at 3.56.53 PM|690x313](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2022/03/6-1.png) ****How it will look on published your website blog/post:** - Incorrect way: if you write in the "above" area of Code Block this is how it will look ![Screen Shot 2022-03-11 at 4.11.30 PM|690x192](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2022/03/7.png) ****How it will look on Ghost editor.** ![Screen Shot 2022-03-11 at 4.22.33 PM|690x255](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-11-at-8.51.30-PM.png) ****How it will look on published your website blog/post:** # Fixing my prior make-shift solution To make notes at the end of my blog posts using the paid-members only feature: ![Screen Shot 2022-03-11 at 4.52.16 PM|690x58](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2022/03/9.png) ****I had the the post access set to => paid-members only. Since I was just getting started with my blog, I didn't need to worry about members joining the membership and reading the private notes. The blog was still free to access but I put my notes under the "only visible to members" divider.** ## 2 changes I had to make after adding code block notes, before I published: ![Screen Shot 2022-03-11 at 4.59.40 PM|690x153](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2022/03/10.png) So after discovering this block code trick and I made the changes but for it to work ****I had to change post access to => public.** 2. ![Screen Shot 2022-03-11 at 5.00.37 PM|690x69](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2022/03/11.png) and ****remove this from the post** in Ghost editior. *Error example:* ![Screen Shot 2022-03-11 at 5.02.53 PM|690x355](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2022/03/12.png) If I don't change it to public from paid-member only this ****error** shows up (the post was not visible): # Final result The visuals once I made the changes (from post access: paid-member only to public): ![Screen Shot 2022-03-11 at 6.02.17 PM|690x280](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2022/03/13.png) How it will look on Ghost editor. ![Screen Shot 2022-03-11 at 6.03.09 PM|690x227](https://storage.ghost.io/c/56/a7/56a7facb-f1ac-4739-8556-2232867b5101/content/images/2022/03/Screen-Shot-2022-03-11-at-8.50.15-PM.png) How it will look on the published website blog/post. ****Notice** that the "NOTESSS..." aren't visible on the published blog. 🎉 [Ghost Forum](https://forum.ghost.org/t/how-does-one-create-private-editorial-notes-at-the-bottom-of-a-published-post/27408?ref=aasthavkapoor.com) \- discussion on this topic with other solutions. --- ## Farewell✨ I hope this helps you! I know I'll be using it all the time from now on. Let me know if this works for you guys. ### A Day with Many Hues URL: https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/a-day-with-many-hues/ Last updated: 2026-08-16T21:08:37.000Z The cold of concrete bites into the soles of my feet as I run around the drawing-room, being chased by my mum, who urges me to wear more than underwear on a crisp day with skies torn from hues of grey. I hear my mum’s voice wander away to the kitchen, and my giggles from the pursuit subside; the sudden silence has me noticing the pitter-patter noises from the outdoors. Through the terrace’s opening, I see the drops of rain in chaos dancing in small puddles. I edge closer with a curious bounce in my step. I stick out a hand into a curtain of precipitation, dazzled by its engulfing cool embrace, which gives me the urge to dance along with the raindrops. Acting on my desire, I step into the downpour. The air is thick with balmy humidity, and the raindrops invigorate my skin, stealing some warmth away with every splash. I frolic and whirl away, trying to keep up with the swaying rains. My mum is now at the opening of the terrace demanding me to “Get inside!” and yelling “You are going to catch a cold!”. I do not understand why I would step away from this rain so wild and void of any patterns. Even though the air is warm, my body betrays me with shudders and chattering teeth from the creeping cool wetness of the rain. As I cave for the dry towel in my mum’s arms, my mind schemes ploys of future dances in rainstorms, even if the cost is my health. ``` Descriptive essay: describe a landscape that has a powerful effect on you. ``` A essay written for my university English class. ### Our Brief Meeting URL: https://www.aasthavkapoor.com/our-brief-meeting/ Last updated: 2026-08-16T21:08:49.000Z Today is a blissful day filled with the greens and blues of mid-summer. I latch onto the safety of my sibling’s hand, shying away from the people gathering around the young huskies. We pass through the entrance of the house into their backyard, where the owner shares the litter’s genealogy with strangers. “Their mother is half-wolf, and their father is a husky” says the owner. The pandemonium of voices in conversation, chirping birds, and distant whooshing of cars in the street outside; all these sounds a whisper to a howling mother bear. I shuffle around tall looming individuals, only hearing her voice. She paces, singing her sorrows beside her beloved partner, in a small confinement for their sheer size. She is massive, her mate huge yet inches shorter than her, as they stand on four paws. I edged closer, searching her cavernous eyes; she paused, leaning into the breeze, searching the winds for inklings of her puppies, paying me no heed as I dared closer. They both jumped, happy to know that their puppies will be going to loving homes, but sad that this might be their last day with them. Dazed by their long and towering bodies leaning upon the quivering fence, I heard the creaking sounds resulting from their sheer force upon it. I study their beauty, and suddenly realize that no one is holding my hand anymore. I do not know how much time has passed, but I am now being called away from her maleficent presence by my sibling. I soon understand that my short venture among her family has come to an end, and I am blessed to be able to take one of her young spirits of joy home with me. On the drive home, I indulge in the winds from outside, staring upon the lilac hues of sunset, all my focus on the bundle of grey fur in my sibling’s lap, the source of many years of happiness to come. ``` Narrative essay: describe a memory. ``` A essay written for my university English class.