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 (75)
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If My Favorite Author Texted Me
If My Favorite Author Texted Me By Hasnain Shah It started as a joke. I was halfway through The Midnight Library by Matt Haig when I thought, What if I could just text him right now? What if I could ask him why this sentence feels like it was written for me?
By Hasnain Shah5 months ago in BookClub
The Future of Friendship in a Digital World
The Future of Friendship in a Digital World By Hasnain Shah Fifty years from now, people will look back at our present-day friendships the way we look at letters written with ink and quill—beautiful, sentimental, but undeniably slow. Human connection has always adapted to technology: from firelit storytelling circles to handwritten letters, from rotary phones to text messages pinging across oceans. And yet, as our digital world accelerates, a question looms: what will it mean to be friends when distance, time, and even physical presence no longer matter?
By Hasnain Shah5 months ago in Humans
The Year I Finally Stopped Apologizing
The Year I Finally Stopped Apologizing By Hasnain Shah For as long as I can remember, the word sorry lived on the tip of my tongue. It didn’t matter if I was at fault or not—if someone bumped into me at the grocery store, if a waiter brought me the wrong order, if a coworker interrupted me mid-sentence—I apologized. My friends joked that I could apologize to a chair if I walked into it, and honestly, they weren’t wrong.
By Hasnain Shah5 months ago in Humans
My Grandparent’s Secret Recipe and the Stories Behind It
My Grandparent’s Secret Recipe and the Stories Behind It By Hasnain Shah Every family has that one dish that seems to hold the whole story of who they are. In mine, it’s my grandmother’s Sunday stew. If you asked her about it, she’d just wave her hand and say, “It’s meat, vegetables, and time. Nothing special.” But she knew, and we all knew, it was much more than that.
By Hasnain Shah5 months ago in Families
My Dog Thinks He’s My Life Coach
My Dog Thinks He’s My Life Coach By Hasnain Shah If you’ve never had a dog stare you down with the kind of intensity normally reserved for TED Talk speakers, you’re missing out on what I live with daily. My golden retriever, Max, is not just my dog—he’s convinced he’s my life coach. And honestly, he may be doing a better job than the actual human mentors I’ve had over the years.
By Hasnain Shah5 months ago in Humor
The Mirror in My Dream Apartment
The Mirror in My Dream Apartment By Hasnain Shah The apartment was almost perfect. I’d toured it on a whim, scrolling through listings after midnight, the way you scroll when you’re lonely and half hoping the internet will hand you a new life. Pictures online rarely match reality, but this one did. Exposed brick, wide windows, a kitchen just big enough for two if they liked each other. Rent that wasn’t a scam.
By Hasnain Shah5 months ago in Horror
The Lie That Saved Me
The Lie That Saved Me By Hasnain Shah I never thought of myself as a liar. Growing up, honesty was treated like a religion in my household—truth was expected, demanded, and anything less was met with swift punishment. My father used to say, “The truth may hurt, but lies will kill you.” I carried that phrase with me like a shield, believing that absolute honesty was the only way to navigate the world without regret.
By Hasnain Shah5 months ago in Confessions
When Silence Gets Loud
When Silence Gets Loud By Hasnain Shah Silence has a reputation for being peaceful. It is the thing we claim to crave after long days, after crowded subways, after conversations that drained more than they gave. We romanticize silence as rest, as stillness, as the calm surface of a lake reflecting a perfect moon.
By Hasnain Shah5 months ago in Psyche
Media vs. Memory
Social Media vs. Memory: The Archive That Owns Us By Hasnain Shah I don’t trust my memory anymore. I used to believe it was a room I could enter freely, open drawers, pull out photographs, smell the dust, and leave when I was ready. Now, when I want to remember a summer night or a birthday, I no longer walk into that room. Instead, I open my phone.
By Hasnain Shah5 months ago in Psyche
What Small-Town Government Taught Me About Power
What Small-Town Government Taught Me About Power By Hasnain Shah Most people imagine corruption as something that happens in Washington, D.C., among senators and lobbyists with seven-figure bank accounts. I used to think the same way. I thought small towns were immune to the dirty tricks of politics—that on the local level, things were still about neighbors helping neighbors. I believed city council meetings were dull but honest, the kind of place where good intentions ruled.
By Hasnain Shah5 months ago in The Swamp
What Small-Town Government Taught Me About Power
What Small-Town Government Taught Me About Power By Hasnain Shah Most people imagine corruption as something that happens in Washington, D.C., among senators and lobbyists with seven-figure bank accounts. I used to think the same way. I thought small towns were immune to the dirty tricks of politics—that on the local level, things were still about neighbors helping neighbors. I believed city council meetings were dull but honest, the kind of place where good intentions ruled.
By Hasnain Shah5 months ago in The Swamp
