Think Bigger

Welcome to Awaken, a space where truth is not only allowed — it is honored.
My name is Zeinab Hamid, and I created this podcast to bring voice to the parts of us that have long been silenced — the parts that question, feel deeply, and desire something more meaningful from life.

In a world that often tells us to “be quiet,” “move on,” or “just get over it,” this is where we slow down and get honest.
Here, we explore the raw, unfiltered experiences that shape us — from the heartbreaks and the breakthroughs, to the lessons we didn’t ask for but needed.

I believe we are all students of life, and every challenge, every joy, every twist in our path holds the potential to awaken something deeper within us.
My mission is to remind you that you are not broken, you are not behind, and you are not alone. You are becoming.

Each week, we’ll have real conversations — sometimes with guests, sometimes just you and me — about healing, emotional intelligence, relationships, self-trust, and the courage it takes to live authentically.
We’ll question the beliefs that no longer serve us, and replace them with truths we choose for ourselves.

So if you’re ready to peel back the layers, face your truth, and awaken the part of you that’s been waiting to be seen, you’re in the right place.
Let’s do this — together.

---

[Main Content — Thinking Bigger]

You know, I never really thought about it this way before…
For so long, I kept letting people into my life who had a lot of inner work to do, but refused to do it.
I don’t want to call anyone a “fixer-upper” — that sounds harsh — but that’s what it was.

And I used to blame myself for attracting people like that.
But the truth is… every single one of them taught me something different.
Every single one shaped me into the woman I’m becoming today.

It’s like God didn’t put me through pain for the sake of pain.
He put me through lessons — lessons to make me stronger.
And this last one? This was the biggest lesson of my life.
Not because of how heavy it was — though it was heavy —
but because it held so many lessons in one single experience.

Our lives were intertwined.
Our friends were friends with both of us.
And when push came to shove, the truth went silent,
and the lies got projected loud.

And that broke my trust in everyone.
Every single person I dealt with in that season betrayed me in some way.
And I had to learn from it in a way that felt so heavy, so lonely, so final.

But all of that… it brought me back to me.
It brought me back to my real purpose.

For the longest time, I thought my purpose was opening a daycare —
a safe place where parents could leave their kids and know they were protected.
Because I was that parent who needed that.
And I wanted it from the bottom of my heart.

But that dream collapsed.
And I thought maybe I wasn’t good enough.
I thought maybe that was the end.

But standing here now, I see it so clearly —
that “failure” wasn’t the end.
It was the expansion.

Back then, I was thinking too small.
It wasn’t just about one building full of children being safe.
It’s about an entire country of children learning how to feel safe within themselves.

Not safety in a place — safety in their own bodies, their own minds, their own souls.
A compass inside them they can carry anywhere.

That’s the vision now.
And I see that everything I went through — every betrayal, every closed door —
it all prepared me for this.

I didn’t fail.
I just shifted.
I just thought bigger.