Never Better

by The Editors

The end of the year is here. For many, it is a time to take stock of the past twelve months and look forward to the future, constructing an emotional architecture to support the weight of the hope that whatever comes next will surely be better than the trash heap that came before it. This is a faulty notion. Next year, we will inevitably only remember how much less worse this year was, because nothing ever gets better, especially, but not exclusively, on the Internet.

So, Never Better. That is the theme for The Awl’s goodbye to 2014. The package has been collected here. It features contributions by Natasha Vargas-Cooper, Jane Hu, Casey Cep, Bijan Stephen, Mary Pilon, Jeb Boniakowski, Haley Mlotek, Laura June, Brendan O’Connor, Michelle Dean, Dan Nosowitz, Carrie Frye, Alice Bolin, Leah Reich, Maria Bustillos, Paul Ford, Mat Honan, Casey Johnston, Laura Olin, Silvia Killingsworth, Bex Schwartz, Maud Newton and Alex Balk.