Proof I Was Here - By Fatima Barakat

Written By: Fatima Barakat

Category: Essay

Competition: Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026

In the compelling essay "Proof I Was Here," Fatima Barakat delves into the intricacies of memory and the human desire to document life's fleeting moments. As part of the Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026, this essay captures the essence of nostalgia and the universal yearning to preserve the past. With a focus on the significance of photographs, journals, and the simple act of remembering, Barakat invites readers to reflect on their own experiences and the traces they leave behind.

About the Work

Fatima Barakat's essay embodies a deep reflection on the ephemeral nature of life and the instinct to document moments before they fade. Her thoughtful prose captures the bittersweet essence of nostalgia, revealing how photographs and journals serve as anchors to our past selves. The work is rich with imagery and emotion, encouraging readers to cherish their memories and recognize the importance of these preserved glimpses of life.

Proof I Was Here

Original Submission by Fatima Barakat

Proof I Was Here

I think there is something deeply human about wanting to remember.

Not simply remembering what happened, but remembering how it felt to be there. The exact kind of happiness that made a person laugh until their stomach hurt. The comfort of an ordinary afternoon that seemed too insignificant to deserve attention. The strange sadness of realizing that a moment was beautiful only after it had already passed.

That might be why people document everything.

They take Polaroids. They squeeze into photobooths. They keep journals beside their beds and write down thoughts that seem too ordinary to matter. They record videos of birthdays, school days, late-night conversations, road trips, and completely uneventful afternoons. They save little pieces of their lives as though they are afraid that memory alone will not be enough.

I understand that fear.

Because memory is beautiful, but it is unreliable. It changes shape with time. Details disappear. Voices become harder to remember. Feelings lose their sharpness. A day that once felt incredibly vivid can eventually become nothing more than a sentence beginning with, “I remember when…”

So people leave evidence behind.

A photograph does not recreate the afternoon it came from, but it can bring you close enough to feel its atmosphere again. A Polaroid can capture more than faces; it can preserve the strange lighting, the awkward pose, the person standing slightly too close to the camera, the smile that happened naturally before anyone had time to arrange it. A photobooth strip can hold four tiny versions of the same moment, each one slightly different, as though happiness could be divided into frames and kept. Journals do something different. They preserve the person who experienced the moment.

There is something almost magical about reading words written by an earlier version of yourself. The handwriting may have changed. The worries may seem ridiculous now. The things that once felt enormous may barely matter anymore. Yet there is still a strange tenderness in meeting that person again. They did not know what you know now. They did not know which friendships would last, which plans would change, which ordinary days would become precious. They were simply living. And that is what makes nostalgia so complicated.

Nostalgia is not always about wanting the past back. Sometimes it is simply the ache of knowing that you cannot return to a version of life exactly as it was. You can remember the feeling, but you cannot recreate the circumstances that produced it. You can revisit the place, but you cannot become the person who once stood there.

Maybe that is why documentation begins long before nostalgia does.

The moment someone takes a photograph, writes something in a journal, or squeezes into a photobooth with their friends, they are unconsciously acknowledging something important: this will not last forever.

They may not be thinking about the future at all. They may simply want a picture. They may be laughing too hard to care about how it turns out. But years later, that same image can become a doorway. One glance, and suddenly an entire afternoon seems to return. Not perfectly, not completely, but enough.

Enough to remember the people.

Enough to remember the laughter.

Enough to remember who you were.

There is something comforting about leaving little traces of yourself throughout your own life. Not because anyone else needs proof that you existed, but because your future self might.

One day, the things that feel ordinary now will belong to a different version of me. The people beside me will grow older. Places will change. Conversations will be forgotten. I will become someone with memories of being this age rather than someone actually living it.

And when that happens, I want something that can take me back for a moment. Not to change anything. Not to relive it. Just to remember.

Because maybe that is what all these photographs, journals, videos, and little scraps of captured time are really saying: I was here. I felt this. I loved these people. I lived this life.

And when memory begins to blur around the edges, I want to have something that whispers back,

Yes. You were here.

About the Competition

The Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026 by Hashtag Kalakar is a prestigious platform celebrating diverse voices in poetry and creative writing. It seeks to uncover the myriad ways in which writers express their thoughts and experiences through the written word. This competition is a testament to the power of storytelling and the shared human experience, inviting participants from around the globe to contribute their unique perspectives.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to Fatima Barakat for sharing "Proof I Was Here" with the world. Her participation in the Global Poetry and Creative Writing Competition 2026 enriches the narrative of human experience and memory. We look forward to seeing how Fatima continues to inspire through her evocative reflections on the power of remembrance.

About Hashtag Kalakar

Hashtag Kalakar is a creative platform dedicated to providing artists, writers, singers and other creative talents with opportunities to showcase their work and reach wider audiences through competitions, features and creative initiatives.