Hasnain Shah
Bio
"I write about the little things that shape our big moments—stories that inspire, spark curiosity, and sometimes just make you smile. If you’re here, you probably love words as much as I do—so welcome, and let’s explore together."
Stories (72)
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The Thing My Younger Self Would Never Believe About Me Now
The Thing My Younger Self Would Never Believe About Me Now By Hasnain Shah If I could sit across from my younger self—the one with scraped knees, trembling hopes, and a heart that bruised too easily—I think the first thing she would do is stare at me in disbelief. Not anger. Not disappointment. Just a kind of stunned, wide-eyed confusion, like she’s looking at a plot twist no story ever prepared her for.
By Hasnain Shahabout a month ago in Humans
The Christmas Tree That Waited
The Christmas Tree That Waited By Hasnain Shah The Christmas tree lot looked different every night—brighter, emptier, more excited. Families wandered between the rows of pine and spruce like treasure hunters, calling out to each other as they held up branches and compared shapes. Children tugged their parents’ coats, laughing as they searched for “the perfect one.”
By Hasnain Shah2 months ago in Art
How I Learned to Forgive Someone Who Never Apologized
How I Learned to Forgive Someone Who Never Apologized By Hasnain Shah Forgiveness is a strange thing. It arrives slowly, then all at once—like the smell of rain before the storm breaks, or the quiet settling after a long, angry argument. I used to think that forgiveness required two people: the one who hurt and the one who was hurt. I thought the door stayed locked unless both hands turned the key.
By Hasnain Shah2 months ago in Humans
Dial 999 for Your Future Self
Dial 999 for Your Future Self By Hasnain Shah It started with a sticker on the inside of a bus shelter. The kind you usually ignore—cheap print, curled edges, probably someone’s attempt to advertise miracle weight-loss pills or forbidden streaming sites. But this one caught my eye because it said only four words:
By Hasnain Shah2 months ago in Fiction
What I Learned Working With People Who Were Dying
What I Learned Working With People Who Were Dying By Hasnain Shah I didn’t expect the first lesson to be about shoes. During my first week working in hospice care, I walked into Mr. Callahan’s room—an eighty-seven-year-old man with lungs that rattled like windowpanes in a storm—and the first thing he asked me wasn’t about his medication, his pain, or his breathing.
By Hasnain Shah2 months ago in Humans
Why We Fear the Life We Actually Want
Why We Fear the Life We Actually Want By Hasnain Shah We like to imagine that the biggest battles we face are external—money, time, responsibilities, circumstance. We tell ourselves that if we had just a little more courage, a little more energy, a little more clarity, we would finally step into the life we dream about. But the truth is quieter, more unnerving: the thing we fear most is often the life we say we want.
By Hasnain Shah2 months ago in Psyche
Why Kindness Isn’t Soft—It’s Rebellious
Why Kindness Isn’t Soft—It’s Rebellious By Hasnain Shah Kindness has always suffered from a reputation problem. It’s been painted as soft, passive, naïve—as if being gentle is the same thing as being weak. Growing up, I was told to “be nice,” but the tone always implied compromise, capitulation, silence. Kindness, in many people’s minds, is what you offer when you don’t have the backbone to stand up for yourself.
By Hasnain Shah2 months ago in Humans
The Stranger Who Changed My Entire Year in 30 Seconds
The Stranger Who Changed My Entire Year in 30 Seconds By Hasnain Shah I used to believe that meaningful moments arrived with orchestral music, dramatic lighting, or some unmistakable sense of fate. But the moment that changed my entire year—my entire approach to living, really—came quietly. It came in a grocery store aisle, between a stack of dented canned peaches and a display of cereal no one ever buys unless it's on sale.
By Hasnain Shah2 months ago in Humans
Airports Make Me Cry for Reasons I Can’t Explain
Airports Make Me Cry for Reasons I Can’t Explain By Hasnain Shah Airports make me cry for reasons I can’t quite explain. It doesn’t matter whether I’m the one leaving or the one staying behind; whether I’m traveling for joy or coming home from heartbreak. The moment I step inside those automatic glass doors and feel the strange mix of recycled air, espresso steam, and expectation—something in my chest loosens. Something quiet inside me breaks open, as if airports have a way of sneaking past every defense I’ve spent the year building.
By Hasnain Shah2 months ago in Humans
