Best of 2025, Part Two: Peers’ Picks

Further reading: Best of 2025 Part One: Writers’ Picks

Every year, time seems more and more like a rarity. We exit college and believe that we’ll maybe have time to pick up a hobby or cook more adventurous meals or see more friends without the looming threat of homework, only for the void to be filled with managing insurance, maintaining a home, exploring a new city, applying for endless jobs, or simply searching for new relationships. I find, though, whenever I sit down to read the newest batch of the post calvin pieces, whether that’s daily, weekly, or towards the end of the year, I find myself grateful that twenty-seven other Calvin alumni have carved out the time to write down something as I am either comforted or challenged or stretched by what they notice, what they know, and what they share.

We know there are a lot of goodies on the post calvin; one writer wrote that “making me choose only one is cruel.” Below, you’ll find some pieces that we think are worthy of your limited time, arranged below by publication day of the recommender.

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How To Explain Your Love of the Damned to your Christian Family | Sam Koster

Sam’s best posts share a piece of themself in a unique way, and I love how they used March’s theme month to do so.

— Sam Tuit

Is there a god of Cars? | Tiffany Kajiwara

I always love a serious deep dive on an unserious topic, and this one made me laugh out loud.

— Christina Ribbens

To Cope with the Situation, All My Friends Started Birdwatching | Emily Joy Stroble

I enjoyed the piece as a reflection on participating in a friend’s hobby that balanced humor about the oddness of birding with a respect for the appeal of the activity.

— Grace Buller

How to Code (For Writing Majors) | Kate Wilmot

I will take any and every opportunity to marvel when writing and “computer stuff” align, especially when the elephant of AI seems to darken both discipline’s door every day. Kate makes these unlikely bed fellows seem, well, more at home.

— Alex Johnson

The Hitchhikers | Grace Buller

The description was so engaging, the topic so unique, and the narrative so well-structured that I was drawn in and highly entertained by the small one-of-a-kind story Grace told.

— Emilyn Shortridge

I Don’t Think I’ll Ever Write That Novel | Mitchell Barbee

I loved Mitchell’s honesty in this piece—he allows the last gasp of a dream to just be that, and when I read it, it was so refreshing for my own writing.

— Kate Wilmot

A Letter to the 70,000 | Noah Keene

This piece is risky on every level: lets himself be implicated, introduces real world injustices without sensationalizing, and never lacks moral clarity.

— Michelle Ferdinands

Nonbinary Dating and Victor/Victoria | Sam Koster

I’ve really enjoyed Sam’s topics this year, and this piece had a specificity and vulnerability that really resonated with me.

— Philip Rienstra

you exist within the context | Madeline Witvliet

I appreciated how Madeline wove together modern political discourse, American history, and her own personal experience as a West Michigan native.

— Eleanor Lee

What Died Didn’t Stay Dead: A Taylor Swift Worship Experience: Holy Week Edition | Josh Parks

I love the way Josh writes, and the creativity of this one got me—I laughed out loud, and shrieked with glee multiple times at the lyrical and Biblical ties. Bravo!

— Olivia Harre

Research Offered Me a Future | Izzy Nunez

I won’t pretend I cried reading Izzy’s piece, but there’s something about someone telling the story of how they’re alive when, by all accounts, they shouldn’t be that cuts you to your core.

— Noah Keene

Dance Like Nobody’s Watching (But Like You Might Step on Their Toes) | Luke Brandsen

I thought it was a humorous, gentle invitation to celebrate life.

— Clint Wilson

Animated Chickens Ranked by Appeal | Christina Ribbens

I thought it was really funny, and it was a good reminder to have fun writing.

— Nathan Hilbrands

First Date Formula from an Armchair Anthropologist | Izzy Nunez

I loved the way Izzy took apart her first date case studies and brought me into the world of Hinge and dating in 2025 that I feel blessed to no longer participate in.

— Carlisle Patete

On Long Distance Loving | Savannah Shustack

This piece just makes me smile knowing Savannah and Thomas are still going strong.

— Priscilla Chang

Vignettes, July Through November | Rylan Shewmaker

For a bunch of places I have never been, I felt remarkably like I was there in the moments Rylan shared in her piece.

— Luke Brandsen

Be Nude, Not Rude | Emilyn Shortridge

I adored the humor and vulnerability with which Emilyn invites us into this little glimpse of her life in Japan, and what it looks like to navigate small cultural differences that you may never have thought of before. I enjoyed learning from this piece, and got to share it / discuss the ofuro with a friend who had recently traveled to Japan.

— Rylan Shewmaker

A Feta-Up Girl’s Guide to Goud(a) Vegan Dairy | Hannah McNulty

Puns, wit, and relatable honesty: this post is classic Hannah, a brilliantly unique and insightful writer.

— Emily Stroble

Sentimental Value | Rylan Shewmaker

It caught me at a time when I was also wrestling with deep reflections on moving and the loss of places that were so meaningful to me for so long.

— Noah Schumerth

Six Little Letters | Sam Tuit

Sam absolutely nailed the radical feeling of taking pride in something that is so aggressively unfriendly like a slur due to its history and unmarketability.

— Sam Koster

How to Pick a Premier League Team | Christina Ribbens

My spouse is a Tottenham Hotspur fan, and some of his love for English football has rubbed off on me, so we both had a blast with this post.

— Anna Jeffries

I DO Think So, Honey! | Carlisle Patete

As a fan of the podcast as well, Carlisle wove a piece about memory, politics, and humor in a way that would make Bowen and Matt proud.

— Izzy Nunez