Further reading: 2023 review, 2022 review, 2021 review, 2020 review, 2019 review
Our hope for the post calvin is that writing does not feel like shouting into the void. As vast and cold and lonely as the internet is, tpc at its best is something cozier: a couple dozen people writing first and foremost to each other. Sometimes, all we know of each other is in our writer bios: a graduation year, a profession or academic affiliation, maybe a pet or partner’s name. But we know something else too: we’ll all be there, reading each other’s work: smiling at bad jokes, cringing at awkward stories, nodding at reminders of what really matters.
Today, the second day of our 2024 end-of-year extravaganza, we make those smiles and nods a bit more public. Each writer has chosen their favorite post from another writer, arranged below by publication day of the recommender.
Choose Some Labels, and I’ll Tell You If You’re a Fraud | Hannah McNulty
The week of August 17–22 had many of my favorite pieces this year, but I want to shine a light on this one from Hannah, where she blends her sense of humor and trademark thoughtfulness.
– Sam Tuit
Snooze: Is It All Lew’s Fault? | Emily Joy Stroble
I always love a deep dive into small, everyday things that we don’t think twice about—the pivot to then reflect on the resentment people have towards whoever is responsible for the snooze button, and what that says about our productivity culture, was delightfully poignant.
– Christina Ribbens
A Letter to My Daughter (I’m Having One) | Caroline (Higgins) Nyczak (guest writer)
The prose is stunning, but more importantly, this post reminds me to live in the (miraculous) present.
– Ansley Kelly
Takes | Josh Parks
The kind of grounded contemplation and thoughtful prose that smacks of a real and necessary wisdom.
– Kipp De Man
Forks on the Road | Gabrielle Eisma
This post perfectly captures the thoughts and feelings on long road trips: the depths of boredom you have to feel in order to muse deeply on a stranger that you see one glimpse of out on the road. It also is a shining showcase of Gabrielle’s wit.
– Alex Johnson
Simultaneity (or The Both/And) | Savannah Shustack
I’m all over the vulnerability of that piece and how Savannah writes about needing to hold the two major emotions of the piece at once
– Kate Wilmot
The One-Way Speed of Light | Josh Parks
Unlike many of us recovered fundamentalists, Josh has the patience to reflect on a familiar figure, the apologetics-obsessed Sunday school teacher, with both good faith and gentle correction.
– Gwyneth Findlay
The Good Will Hunting Problem | Noah Keene
This is a very thoughtful exploration of a question that comes up much more often than I’d like it to.
– Philip Rienstra
My Life As a Domestic Demon | Annaka Koster
Annaka made us promise not to laugh before the post showed us the monstrous cookies, but I felt so much joy and camaraderie once I saw them, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud! Pure fun and commiserating wrapped up in failed domestic endeavors. I loved it.
– Gabrielle Eisma
Words for When You’re Moving | Ansley Kelly
I love pieces that put feeling and words to universal experiences in a refreshing way, and that’s what Ansley always does!
– Olivia Harre
The Viking Experience | Gabrielle Eisma
I always find Gabby’s pieces delightful, but I particularly loved her playful tone about an absolutely wild experience.
– Tiffany Kajiwara
Ten Places and Spaces I’ve Split My Pants | Izzy Nunez
Izzie Nunez brought a fresh authenticity and vulnerability to tpc with this piece—combining humor with unapologetic truth-telling that one should never take oneself too seriously is what she does best.
– Carlisle Patete
Takes | Josh Parks
This post reminds me to take myself less seriously.
– Isaac DeBoer
On Being Young and Still Lonely | Tiffany Kajiwara
Tiffany has a knack for writing about the plight of life transitions in your twenties, and I so related to both the original piece last year which discussed the struggle to find community and to the follow-up which admits that loneliness isn’t completely defeated even after you do find more people.
– Hannah McNulty
Coffee Creepies: Ghost Stories from Your Local Starbucks | Philip Rienstra
As a former barista myself, I love how Philip captured the day to day quirks of cafés; the lid void is truly a frightening spot.
– Rylan Shewmaker
Forks on the Road | Gabrielle Eisma
The format was unique and engaging and the thread of communion/eating together in joy was stitched with a light and lovely touch.
– Savannah Shustack
Hometown Grocery Stores | Carlisle Patete
I always felt that Ingles was the inferior grocery store growing up, but Carlisle changed my mind, and now I sometimes find myself missing the grocery store I wanted to avoid.
– Mitchell Barbee
I’ll Just Be in the Parking Lot, Struggling | Christina Ribbens
I liked this piece because it made me feel not so alone in my hyper-independence, and it also made me laugh.
– Sophia Medawar
Say Hi to the Little Guy Staring at Your Shins | Christina Ribbens
It’s always wild when someone puts something you feel into words, and the compulsive anthropomorphizing about the little things is so beautiful in its silly way.
– Sam Koster
Okay | Olivia Harre
Familiarity with the exhaustion of perpetual motion and the treasuring of a haven in a city that is home away from home with the joy of arriving and sadness already at departing.
– Anna Jeffries
Lose Your Grandpa | Gabrielle Eisma
A beautifully honest and thoughtful piece.
– Izzy Nunez
Josh Parks graduated from Calvin in 2018 with majors in English and music, and he is currently a PhD student in religious studies at the University of Virginia. When not writing, he can be found learning the alto recorder, watching obscure Disney movies, and making excruciating puns.
