A silky memory, so slippery you might lose it, so soft you feel comforted by it, and yet, so cold to the touch that you fear it. It’s a faint vision, a piece of paper that fell between the files of my...

If you have ever browsed the middle school or high school library and found yourself wandering into the romance section, then chances are you saw an overwhelming amount of one author: Sarah Desson. My...

Avery, Nat, and I sitting on the old, brown couch this week

I had just started middle school, and like any sane thirteen-year-old girl who was ridden with anxiety and a slight control problem, I opened a Pinterest account. This might not seem like the most rash...

Only senior Natalie Mix has a strong enough passion for the art of words that she would find herself stepping on, over, and through furniture for a good story. “I have been writing my whole life,”...

I don’t know what it is about watching hot, thirty-year-old women sell multi-million-dollar houses to young couples with too much money, but the amount of serotonin that the Netflix TV series Selling...

I’ve never really liked running. For some reason, I tried to make it a hobby of mine when I was younger. I did more years of Girls on the Run than I can count, and in middle school, I even ran track...

What started out as a joke, a common interest among friends, and a playful yet competitive sport, has now turned into an event that many students participate in, according to junior Annie Douma.  The...

As an avid watcher of Bridgerton season one, I had my doubts about how season two could possibly live up to the intense, romantic, and beautiful prospects that season one had to offer. Similar to season...

There are a few consistent sayings or rules for The Central Trend, and when I hear them, no matter who's speaking, I hear Mr. Georges's booming voice clanging around my brain.  Some of those rules...

Freshman Will Stevens found himself in a flexing competition with his older sister—junior Caroline Stevens—to see who has the biggest muscles.  Will and Caroline have been going to the gym together...

As a high school student that only works a few days a week, I will do almost anything to find deals in order to get the best price for something: coupons, sale sections, and even dupes for some of my favorite,...

There have been times in my life when writing has been a viable outlet for me. Every so often, I write a column that truly encapsulates my feelings and doesn’t feel like an assignment, but rather a piece...

In the span of one day, junior Aden Pomeroy found himself meeting people from Switzerland, China, Korea, Germany, Mexico, Turkey, and beyond.  Aden has been a part of Odyssey of the Mind for four years...

“You think your life is hard, I am a high school junior wearing size thirteen Nikes—men's size thirteen Nikes” This quote from Tall Girl—a Netflix original movie—went viral as a commonly used,...

In honor of Black History Month, The Central Trend is doing Q&As to discuss the importance of Black History Month and the best ways to amplify Black voices.

1. Can you describe your journey with the NAACP of Grand Rapids? "I will say I'm an NAACP baby. I grew up in the organization. My parents had us involved at a very, very young age—involved meaning...

This profile contains spoilers for the Star Wars movies and affiliated TV shows. Standing on stage, sword in hand, anxiously anticipating his partner's next move, senior Callum Blackburn found a purpose...

When scouring Netflix for my next comfort TV series to add to the long list—Gilmore Girls, The Office, New Girl, etc.—I am in search of a show that meets certain criteria. With the recent popularization...

No humiliation compares to sitting idly still in Mrs. Smith’s fifth-grade classroom anxiously anticipating the subject shift from science to language arts.  If you spoke to me now, my petite poetry...

1. How do teachers incorporate talking about Black History Month and its importance in their classes? "I think there's a variety of things that teachers do to incorporate Black History Month into lessons....

1. How do you incorporate talking about Black History Month and its importance in your class? "I've said before [that] American history is Black history and vice versa. We'll spend a little more time...

The term “depression” was first used in the 1930s, under the umbrella term mental health. Since then, many other facets of mental health issues have been identified, diagnosed, and helped. A common...

Specific experiences from my childhood were done so frequently and on such an annual basis that I learned to predict their appearance in my life each June, July, or August like clockwork.  Eventually,...

Sophomore Claire Marvin’s life has been one adventure after the next. From road trips across America to a variety of different countries, Claire has found a home on the road.  Her admiration for travel...

Over the course of my sixteen years on this earth, I have grown to learn that more often than not, when someone disagrees with you, there is little you can do to change their mind. It is for that reason...

You know those moments when you look in the mirror and you can count about a million flaws on one-half inch of your face? You scramble to fix your under-eye bags and your discolored complexion before someone...

In 1990, classic Christmas comedy, Home Alone, became a blockbuster hit, warming the hearts of viewers everywhere. To this day, Home Alone is an annually watched movie in my household, alongside other...

Each year, when glistening specks of ice coat my home as if I was in a snow globe and the pleasant aroma of evergreen wafts through the air, I am reminded of the extent to which I fully enthrall myself...

Student council adviser Laura Stiles attempted to bring some holiday spirit to FHC with her festive Christmas hat and lining the halls with glistening lights over the past few weeks. Now, she is hoping...

Controversial or not, I start listening to my Christmas music a few days after Halloween. I ease my way in with the Christmas classics, but after listening to the same songs on repeat for over a month,...

To my sister -  I miss you now more than ever since you’ve left for college. Sometimes, it is really really hard not having you around all the time, but I know that no matter how far away you are,...

Lately, my weeks have felt bland. I kept saying, “Next week will be better,” knowing full well it would be the exact same as the week prior and the week before that. Then I thought to myself, “What...

Sophomore Paige Johnson found herself flying through the air right before she abruptly hit the low bar and face-planted dramatically.  Paige has been doing gymnastics for eight years, and she has grown...

The Oxford dictionary defines guilty pleasure as, “something, such as a movie, television program, or piece of music, that one enjoys despite feeling that it is not generally held in high regard.”...

I feel as though I am still young. I still have childish problems. I still need help from my parents more often than I would like to admit. Although I like to pretend I am always the responsible one, deep...

Senior Brynn Schanski has dressed up in a variety of different costumes over the years, ranging from a pea pod when she was a baby to Bucky Barnes—her most recent attire. Although everyone who celebrates...

An utter waste of time is the only phrase that comes to mind when attempting to describe the confusing, exhausting, and overall brutal experience that is watching season five of Riverdale. Riverdale...

"It was about a year ago when my family went on a trip to New Mexico. It was a family outing; we went to this really big church that a lot of people visit. We were sitting there, and these murals that...

The cosmetic industry is one that I have devoted hours of time to understanding and perfecting its many rules. I have given money in order to stay afloat in its latest standards and trends, and most...

Senior Lauren Speicher started learning to fly planes two years before she got her driver’s license.  Lauren became a student pilot at the age of 14. Since her dad is a private pilot, he introduced...

Product: Tee Off Instagram: @teeoff_shirts Group Members: Ryan Sutherlund (manager), Sam Yeager (finance), Evan Lubben (sales), Owen Barber (supply manager), and Ryan Messner (marketing). What...

I have never been a documentary-type person. I often will put them on in the background to make me feel smarter or even with the intention of learning something new, but more often than not, I click them...

It feels like I am just counting down the columns until I work up the courage to write about you—the gap missing from my life, the light that’s never on: my sister.  I know there are probably a...

'Live, laugh, lightning.' To the average person, that phrase means nothing, but if you are a member of the FHC Color Guard, you know exactly what it is referring to.  Junior Megan Wilson, captain of...

Power in the music industry is hard to come by; unless you are a best-selling artist or have a number one hit, your career is a constant battle of deciding what walls are there to be broken down and which...

High school is something I have dreamt about. I wanted to be the cheerleader floating atop her bases. I wanted to wear sparkly dresses to Homecoming. I wanted to have a bunch of friends, but most importantly,...

Five years ago, sophomore Skyler Tierney went from riding the salty waves of Long Island, New York, to abruptly living in Grand Rapids, Michigan, surrounded by fresh water and a new life.  Skyler grew...

The Improv show is an anticipated and beloved FHC tradition. Students, parents, and staff alike come together to watch our school’s improv team show off their best work. This tradition has been going...

Netflix has a long history of putting out original movies that, for lack of a better word, are cringey: The Kissing Booth, To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, and more recently, He’s All That and Afterlife...

My to-do lists are my sanity, and the future is something I cannot cross off or put a checkmark next to. I can’t label it a completed task because the capacity of brain space it takes up is too large...

For many people, myself included, the memory of watching Outer Banks, season one, is engraved in our brains as the perfect escape from the harsh realities of 2020. Tucked away in our rooms, binge-watching...

Have you ever bought a book because the cover matches your aesthetic? Maybe you look at the many hues that make up the title and think that would make a great coffee-table book. Well, that was exactly...

Name: Vivian Wheland Class: 2024 1.What position are you running for? “I am running for class President.” 2.Why did you decide to run? “I wanted to be more of a figure in the school,...

Name: Hayden Bolter Class: 2024 1.What position are you running for? “I am running for one of the Trustee positions.” 2.Why did you decide to run? “I decided to run again because...

Name: Bella Grounin Class: 2024 1.What position are you running for? "I am running for class President." 2.Why did you decide to run? "I decided to run because I think that taking action...

Name: Ayla Ahmetovic Class: 2024 1.What position are you running for? “I am running for Vice President.” 2.Why did you decide to run? “I decided to run because I want to make the best...

Name: Saniya Mishra Class: 2024 1.What position are you running for?  "I'm running for sophomore class Treasurer for this upcoming year." 2.Why did you decide to run?  "I decided to run...

Name: Emalea Rooke Class: 2024 1.What position are you running for? “I am running for Secretary.” 2.Why did you decide to run? “I decided to run because I love being involved in Student...

Name: Letizia Cumbo-Nacheli Class: 2024 1. What position are you running for?  “President.” 2. Why did you decide to run?  “I love being involved in the school and overall being...

Name: Lucy Wu Class: 2024 1.What position are you running for? "I'm running for the position of class President." 2. Why did you decide to run? "I decided to run because I wanted to give...

With the voting opening at the end of the week, we decided to do Q&As with the current high schoolers running for office. We hope to provide students here at FHC with a deeper look into the candidates...

The photoshopped pages of a glossy magazine cover taunt onlookers with its unrealistic depiction of women in the media. Wondering what these women do to be so beautiful, pain sets in knowing it’s not...

I used to write many stories much like this one every time I was upset about something. It was never that I was consistently angry, sad, or overwhelmed, it was just that when I was feeling that way,...

Freshman Letizia Cumbo-Nacheli didn't know how to ask her first-grade teacher for art supplies in English.  Letizia grew up in a household where Spanish was her first language. At home, this didn't...

I have typed word after word and yet managed to press the delete button more times than the spacebar. This is not my first time running out of ideas, nor will it be my last, but when you have written over...

My future here is clear. Unlike my perspective on every other aspect of my life, at least here is still my home.  I doubted its ability to comfort me after a year away, but those fears slowly vanished...

Freshman Zack Race took something that he loves and turned it into something other people would benefit from.  After gathering a respectable amount of followers on YouTube and Twitch, Zack decided...

I want the late nights, and early sunrises, and the beautiful cotton candy pastels of the early morning sky to seep into whatever bedroom I stayed in the night prior. I want the cliche driving around with...

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results. I fear we are all going insane. Down the rabbit hole, I have fallen. Into wonderland, I wander desperately...

Senior Linus Kaechele has been told he bears the subtle scent of cucumbers, but, to him, that smell resembles happiness.  “I have a vivid memory of someone telling me, ‘Linus, I don’t even have...

The little things we will do in order to entertain our minds. Distracting myself from the impending days ahead, hiding what's to come from the innocent little girl that sits in the center of my psyche,...

Junior Vinod Rajakrishna found himself sitting alone on the upper field while the rest of his soccer team was practicing for thirty minutes all because of a social media mishap.  “I ended up being...

I am living life at 50%.   I ache to acknowledge my other half.    The girl who has the confidence to do all the things I can not.    She finishes the hundreds of half...

The significance of what I remember. There were times of darkness—like splotches of stars amongst the otherwise unilluminated sky and times of true triumph that reminded me of why I am who I am. But...

At the middle school band concert, sophomore Ian Mahoney tricked everyone into thinking he was playing his oboe; when, in reality, he was pretending the whole time despite knowing the songs extremely well.  “When...

Move with a purpose they say. Know where you want to go, who you want to be when you get there; don't give up until you arrive, but don't you dare lose yourself along the way.  Move with a purpose they...

Living in an endless summer dream, I awake to the soft, angelic glow of the sun cascading in through my window and draping my muted white comforter with golden brilliance. My eyelashes flutter like a butterfly...

AP English Language teacher Lisa Penninga believes everyone has a mountain they want to climb. Her students recently completed a social justice project where they could pick any topic of their choice...

We are spiraling down the staircase of self depreciation, critiquing who we are because we don't know who we want to be. We are willing to do anything to stand out just enough to get noticed, all while...

I want to be looked at.  I want to be looked at like others look at the sunset.  Standing back breathless.  Admiring my colors.  The brown and strawberry blonde tinted hues of my hair.  The...

Senior Amelia Pointer hyperventilated because of a Bill Nye The Science Guy video in the second grade.  Ever since she was very little, Amelia's dad instilled a strong passion for films in her. This...

I once was a seed, Writing about how I grew up too fast before I was even fully grown. Grasping at the air, Aching for more water. Begging mother earth to let me live. All so I could feel...