Brooke Cullinane is a freshman entering her first year in the Forest Hills Central District, as well as her first year as a staff writer for The Central Trend. She recently moved to Grand Rapids from her lifelong home in California’s Bay Area and is eagerly anticipating a change of pace in life, and a strengthened emphasis on family. Journalism is one of her passions, inspired early by John Hopkins’ Center for Talented Youth literary classes that sparked her love for writing. As an editor-in-chief and copy editor for her middle school’s newspaper, The Falcon’s Quill, Brooke is excited to transition from middle school journalism to The Central Trend. She loves to watch and play sports; volleyball, basketball, and softball are among her favorites. In her marginal free time, she loves to crochet, read, and watch TV shows. She’s thrilled for this upcoming year of new friendships, sports, and, of course, writing.
Favorite subject: English
Favorite season: Fall
Favorite movie: all rom-coms (especially The Notebook)
Arizona State University’s March Mammal Madness program has been implemented in FHC’s science classes for five to six years now, yet the program hasn’t lost any of its educational value—or the...
I love filling out forms.
I adore checking boxes, writing my name and birthday, or circling “all that apply.”
My enjoyment of forms is a well-known fact among my family and friends, yet I often...
The following story contains mild spoilers for the Broadway play Clue: On Stage.
As a lifelong Clue fan, when the unique murder mystery board game was adapted for film and the theater, I immediately...
Despite having yet to tackle the historical mountain of AP United States History (APUSH), I’ve taken many history tests in my life. Over time, through many tears cried over seemingly endless pages of...
I’ve never not played softball, not until last year. From my first empowering, albeit small, hits off the tee, I knew that softball would be my sport. I was only five years old, yet I was immediately...
From raps about James Madison to presentations of political “heroes vs hacks” and lessons ranging from a variety of topics surrounding politics and democracy, AP Government (AP Gov) is a valuable high...
For many juniors in high school, balancing multiple extracurricular activities while working a job can prove difficult and lead to early burnout. However, for junior Keyan Roelfzema, the lessons and experience...
I love traveling, but the decision of where to travel is a convoluted one. Through many blissful and fun-filled spring break trips, I finally have found the best places to travel in April that are guaranteed...
I don’t know what it is about the quiet hush of nightfall, or the silence from our phones as the moon dips towards 3 a.m., but my most important conversations are held under the chirp of crickets and...
Junior Mady Scarlato is the perfect example of someone balancing “everything” seamlessly.
Water polo. Swim and Dive. National Honors Society. Community Club. FHC Sports Report. Mady Scarlato does...
Valentine’s Day will be forever special to me. I’ve never spent February 14th drowning in tears or hopeless wishes; instead, I knew I would wake up to flowers, a card, and small presents.
Somehow,...
Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter is a country album.
However, the global superstar's album received no nominations at the Country Music Awards (CMAs) and wasn’t even acknowledged by the award show, despite...
Walking into the theaters to see the recently released movie Mufasa: The Lion King, I was expecting a heartfelt and visually impressive prequel to the live-action Lion King I knew and loved. I was thoroughly...
As an overwhelmingly negative person, I often find myself wishing I was a cheery optimist, the type that so often becomes one of my closest friends.
I know it’s more than just a mere coincidence that...
One of the best holiday activities is to bake desserts, and while family and friends hunt for a sweet treat, making delicious holiday-themed desserts is a sure way to stay busy and fill your house with...
Snow days are pure 24-hour periods, held in untouched regard in the thoughts and hopes of children across the Midwest and Eastern United States. Yet, having grown up without snow days promising a reprieve...
Who would have thought that my best friend would be walking the halls of FHC with me, the two of us recreating the image of our moms striding step-by-step together on the same carpet 24 years earlier?
“Tell...
Mihika: for being my best friend hundreds of miles away,
I have no words to describe how much I really miss you. If it wasn’t apparent by my streams of text messages filling the screen before...
After teaching in Romania for four years, Morgan Beckett has returned to her previous home in the Grand Rapids area to continue teaching. She brings commitment and perspective to being a teacher, impacting...
Although it is to be expected of reality television, the latest installment of the Dancing with the Stars franchise has turned the show into a popularity contest with inadequate hosts and a fake, staged...
Despite my friends claiming it is the Christmas season, November is still an enjoyable month to view the fall leaves change colors and take precious photos while the autumn season still lasts. The weather...
My memory jars perch in my mind, each home to the beauty I find in life, and the moments that have shaped the fabric of my fourteen years so far. The memories swirl within them, weaving together to form...
Terrorists and murderers living among us. Soft on crime. Skyrocketing taxes. Liar. Senile. For weeks, there hasn’t been a 30-second pause in anything I have watched, from the Lions game to Jeopardy,...
Dear My First Life,
I miss you. My pain is not sharp, not one that constricts my ribs and leaves me gasping for breath. It doesn’t appear in bouts of sobs or a longing for the strings of my life to...
