The Best of 2013: Thought Catalog Articles

My 2013 Best of Thought Catalog

After I began reading Thought Catalog when I clicked on a tweeted link early last fall, I have read it pretty much religiously. When I saw Matt Saccaro’s piece, I was reminded of all of the TC articles I’d saved in a bookmarks folder entitled “Thought Catalog library.” I really appreciate TC’s mission statement, which can be found in the previously linked articles, because it reminds me that the site isn’t just representative of a yuppy, millennial population and their problems. The list below surely does not convey the scope of the rhetoric and style the site presents, but the below articles are just a few of my favorites picked from my Thought Catalog library and organized by month.

January:

1. I'm a Liberal Who Believes in God: I'm a liberal who doesn't know how they feel about the idea of God. Very informative.
2. Why Does Everything Have to Involve Drinking?: Pre-college reading.

February:

1. Some Times You've Thought About Death: Who doesn't? These musings stick with you. 

March:

1. Why Your Work Disappoints You: Great thought behind Ira Glass's important thoughts on the gap between work and taste that can be listened to here
2. What the Frack is Fracking?: I wanted to know more about the process of fracking and its effects on the environment

1. A Universe-Wide Mandate: On The Quality Of Lyrics Websites: Amazing satire and highly relevant.

April:

1. 20 Signs You're Sleep Deprived: A bit of light reading before college begins.
2. Pinterest Is About Your Current And Future Self: So true. What else makes 16 year old girls start planning their barn weddings?
3. The 10 Commandments Of The American Religion: Provides a different view of some things Americans hold sacred and is backed up by provocative statistics.

May:

1. So I’m A Teacher Now…: A different perspective from a new teacher, but needed and eye-opening.
2. Why The Arrested Development Of Its Critics Arrests The Development Of ‘Arrested Development’: A response to everyone complaining that the new style of the 4th season AD episodes was odd. At least there's a 4th season, jeez!

June:

1. 19 Quotes For Your Existential Crisis: Always handy. I'm almost 19 for goodness sakes!

July:

1. Maybe You Don’t Deserve To Be Happy: Everyone needs to think about whether they actually deserve happiness. 
2. 24 Books You’ve Probably Never Heard Of But Will Change Your Life: I always need a new list of books to tackle and these often forgotten gems seem great. 

August:

1. There’s A Lot More To Reading Than Just Reading: Cheesy, not as well-written as some of the other articles on this list, but it makes me happy because I know how the writer feels.

September:

1. How to Keep A Library Of (Physical) Books: Perfect timing as this month was when I began cultivating my personal library. Also, it justifies that $72 I spent in one trip at a used bookstore in Lincoln Square.
2. Everything I Learned In College Was A Lie: Funny, but relevant especially to Liberal Arts students.
3. Warning: This Video Of Joseph-Gordon Levitt Will Give You A Sexual Heart Attack: No shame.
4. 35 Breathtaking Photos That Will Make You Fall In Love With Chicago: I love saying that I live in this city now. 35 more reasons to add to the list.

October:

1. 22 Things You Need To Realize While You Still Have The Chance To Change Them: These are basically The Golden Rule, expanded and for teenagers to centenarians.
2. 29 Awesome Modern Romantic Comedies That Don’t Insult Your Intelligence: I need something to tell me what to watch when I have an emotional 2 AM Twizzler binge that is somewhat satisfying.
3. The Complete Guide For Traveling In New England: I wanted to go to school in New England, of course I'm going to have this on my list.
4. What It Means To Be A Critic: After becoming friends with a handful of film majors, I've come to really enjoy the critical analysis of film. This is a sort of critic-ception: how do we critique critics and why?
5. Do It Girl, Make The Move!: The feel-good article for the month. Girl power attitude replenished.
6. College? It’s The Best Years Of Your Life, Right?: This helped ease the "Why am I feeling so awful?" fears I was having at the time. 
7. The 5 Best Surprise Rolling Stone Articles: I get Rolling Stone in the mail. It's usually a crapshoot writing-wise. These are highly informative. Read them!
8. 17 Photos That Prove That Marlon Brando Was The Hottest Person In The History Of Hot People: Even though my first foray into Brando-ville was Apocalypse Now, I recently watched On the Waterfront and I got butterflies. 
9. 23 Terrible Movies So Bad You Absolutely Have To Watch Them: Must have for movie nights.
10. The Only True Happiness Is What We Share When We’re Most Uncool: Awesome. 

November:

1. 7 Famous Thinkers, Presented As Doge: Doge gets me every time, so I love the intellectual spin on it.
2. 9 Mind-Expanding Books Of Philosophy That Are Actually Readable (A Guide To Practical Philosophy): Since I probably won't get to take a non-education related philosophy course (wooo Ed majors), I want to read more philosophy outside of class that is actually digestible without a professor
3. The 30 Most Epic Zingers From Famous People Throughout History: The nerd within me laughs.

December:

1. The Lost Art Of The Mix CD: I love making people mix CDs, so of course I find myself liking this piece.
2. If You Were A Sentence Written In The English Language: Another cheesy one, but it makes me grin like an idiot. 
3. Cancer Has A Way Of Deleting Everything You Could Say: The connection to this is strong. 
4. What Writer's Block Would Look Like If It Were Described on WebMD: Now that I've started to write more, this describes my evenings completely.
5. What You Should Do the Next Time You Hate-Read Something Online: A message to everyone that complains about BuzzFeed.
6. 15 Reasons Why Everyone Should Read More: Friendly reminder that reading makes you a better person in all categories.
7. The Notecard System: The Key for Remembering, Organizing, and Using Everything You Read: Perfect article for my New Year's resolution to keep my notes more organized.
8. My Interview With The World's Youngest Ibogaine Provider: Fascinating article about a controversial new drug that interrupts opiate addiction.