The brown couch in the TCT room envelopes your body like a hug when you fall upon it; the blue pillows that replace the back cushions cradle your head when you lean back far enough—regardless of whether...

It was always going to come to this. I always knew this was going to end, that’d I’d be writing my last editor’s column in the same spot I wrote my first one: under my comforter with tears in...

Here is a picture of the seniors on the first day of their senior year, a memory they will all hold as they enter the last day of school.

Shoot for the moon, they say. Suit up, chart your course, prepare for take-off—it’s ok to fail, but it’s not. At least you’ll be among the stars if you fail, they say. But, after seeing the...

This column was suppose to be about how, for the last few weeks, I’ve felt comfortable. It was going to be about how I’ve been accepting the change that is happening in the present and processing...

Senior Ella Fauson and her family took a camping trip out west in June of 2021.  While most would expect to find themselves riddled with mosquito bites after a trip like this one, Ella found a passion...

Senior Emma Zawacki has been on the staff of The Central Trend since her sophomore year and became the Editor-in-Chief her senior year.

The sky is an angry blue. And with it, she’s furious at herself. Livid at the things she’s let slip between her fingers and the things she pushed off until later because she’s slowly running...

We’re approaching a territory full of lasts, and everything in me is screaming to turn around, to run from the absoluteness of it all.  To lock myself away so I don’t have to face any of these...

My heart’s always been a catch-all for all of those around me. A receptacle for the bad, the worse, the horrendous. Soaking up others’ emotions, people-pleasing until I can’t anymore, until I...

a picture of downtown Indianapolis, Indiana

The Moody Bars that you can find at Sticky Fingers.

Senior Jack VanderVeen decided to learn how to play the trumpet in the sixth grade. However, the instrument didn’t stick, and he quit the class the following year. Instead, he took guitar lessons...

The radio’s static is a distant hum compared to the woosh of cars on the street outside her bedroom window. They seemingly race each other down the dimly-lit street, racing towards an unknown destination.  The...

Things are hectic right now—housing plans, The Senior Edition planning, and being pulled in every direction by everyone around me—but I’m holding out for the end of the year, holding out to be able...

Senior Julia Brown spent her first year playing lacrosse caked in mud. In the sixth grade, when Julia first started playing lacrosse seven years ago, her team had to practice on a field lovingly dubbed...

March 1st A Tuesday that started with a splitting headache and an urge to crawl back into my bed, refusing to start the day.  A Tuesday that ended in tears. Because while my family and I were...

On a hike, avoiding the slippery path, carrying the tote bag Jessie painted for me and the trail snacks we bought at the gas station. I was happy.

We were fashionably late for our own endeavors.  A line spewed from the passenger seat of Natalie’s replacement car—a blue Chevy that has been dubbed Marina—by Katarina who shared in my hesitation...

In the fourth grade, senior Conner Milton began playing tackle football; that same year, he got a concussion from senior Tyler Weaver while out on the field together. Conner started playing the beloved...

To my dad, 90s rock songs were made for late-night drives. More specifically, a late-night drive that was fueled by gas station caffeine and Kurt Cobain lyrics that we were playing so loud, we threatened...

She’s beginning to stumble. Beginning to trip over the things she no longer finds meaningful. The weight of her past clings to her hands, pulling her in their direction as she struggles to flee. She...

Junior Kaylin Scheuneman is excited to participate in the longstanding dance team tradition of getting a spray tan before they travel down to Orlando, Florida for Nationals.  “The day before we leave,”...

My father and I, much to my mother’s dismay, share an affinity for sitcoms and bad jokes.  We also both agree that there are currently not any good background TV shows that have been newly released...

In eighth grade, my best friend and I made a time capsule. It’s an old, blue shoe box that we decorated with construction paper and bright stickers with our handwriting scribbled across the top. “Do...

Lately, I’ve been attempting to chase the highs of summertime. Attempting to ignore the bitter chill in the air that nips at my fingers and the fact that I can only seem to catch the tail-end of sunsets...

She doesn’t have much to say this week. She doesn’t seem to have any outstanding emotions or unfinished business with this world, and maybe, her column from last week is to blame for that.  She...

Senior Tyler Stiles, while still living in Kansas, had a room decorated like a miniature planetarium.  The walls of his childhood bedroom were complete with small planets and other space-themed decor...

She’s dug her own grave. And she’s filled it in with gravel, adjectives beginning with “a,” and the slight smell of salt that lingers in the seaside air. It burns her lungs. As if the...

I follow the entirety of the Fab Five on Twitter. This means that aside from getting my fair share of hilarious tweets from the hosts of Netflix’s original series Queer Eye, I also was very quickly...

American Sign Language teacher Kimberly Anderson wants her students to learn that the world isn’t as nice as it should be.  “I think deaf people are oppressed,” Anderson said, “and it's hard...

I’ve become codependent on my to-do lists. Clinging to the bullet points, pretending they offer some small form of order in the chaos that is to ensue.  Chaos that is a stack of letters threatening...

I scratched my name into the walls of a pizzeria last weekend in Chicago. We had taken refuge from the cold at a table just big enough for the six of us and talked about our shopping endeavors as the...

I’m always on the search for music that is perfect for late-night drives, music that doesn’t distract from the sunset through my windshield but adds to the experience as a whole.  And lately, I’ve...

Junior Jenan Hammad makes the stickers that decorate her laptop in her free time. “I make my own stickers,” Jenan said. “I print out photos at the library, and I laminate them. Then, I put them...

She spent her childhood wishing on shooting stars and eyelashes brushed away by warm fingertips.  She used to wish for days like today.  Days where she is riding serotonin highs and no matter how...

Staff - for brightening my day with your ability to go above and beyond  Jadelin, thank you for always being so dedicated. Masyn, thank you for your positive attitude. Kelsey, thank you for making...

My passion for words is no secret. I never stop talking about whatever book I’m reading or stories like these that are written in Times New Roman size 12. But with a future I’m excited about nearly...

Yet another selfie Emma took—when Nat was not ready—while we were waiting for our ice cream in the Culver's drive-thru over the summer—when we were tan and content.

My parents used to tell me “Sophie stories” every night before bed. They’d crawl into my bed on either side of my small frame and tell me stories about a girl named Sophie who always seemed to...

The year is 2012. My childhood best friend and I are sprawled out in her room, me on the floor and her across the foot of her bed. In the background of our conversation about Taylor Swift’s current...

Name: Benji Zorn Grade: 12th 1. What is your role? "I play two roles. I play Roger—who is Judy's new husband after the breakup/divorce. I also play one of the two drunks on the train, along...

Name: Russell Baird Grade: 12th 1. What is your role? "I play Ed Boone, Christopher's father." 2. Why did you decide to try out for the play? "[I] decided to try out because I'd done the...

This year, FHC's theatre department, directed by John Donovan, is putting on The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.  The show will be running from Thursday, Nov. 11th until Saturday, Nov....

Name: Gia Monteruso Grade: 10th 1. What is your role? "My character's name is Siobhan. She's like the teacher/mentor to the main character, Christopher; she's also the narrator in the first act." 2....

Name: Abby Berlin Grade: 12th 1. What is your role? "I play Mrs. Shears and Punk Girl." 2. Why did you decide to try out for the play? "I decided to try out for the play because a lot...

Name: Logan Verlinde Grade: 12th 1. What is your role? "I play a policeman, as well as Mr. Thompson's brother and other various roles in the play." 2. Why did you decide to try out for the...

I do my best writing when I listen to music.  There’s something about the endless noise that triggers metaphors in my brain and helps me string together eloquent sentences. And because I write...

Around Central Michigan University’s campus, American Sign Language teacher Kimberly Anderson is known as “the bike girl.” “We have Deaf Awareness week,” Anderson said, “[and my junior year,]...

I tore apart a children’s poetry book this summer. I cut out stanzas and pictures and rearranged them to make new poems on the fronts of my notebooks. I ripped them apart and glued them together in...

"I never wore costumes until I had to teach young, young children. And one year, I remember I dressed up as a disco ball and that was a lot of fun. [It] was one of those inflatable costumes, and then I...

Nat and I being cute.

Senior year has been a blur—a blur of pastels and convoluted greys and thinking that it’s still September. A blur of brown couches, individually wrapped mints, Avery, Nat, and blue walls. Preparations...

Counselor Kyle Perkins is looking forward to the Honors English 10 field trip planned by teacher Ken George for a variety of reasons—the main one being that Hope College has an awesome cafeteria. On...

I made my second trip down to Bloomington, Indiana this past weekend.  I toured the red and white halls of the Hogwarts-esque buildings and the landscaped lawns of Indiana University in an attempt...

Lilac skies brush hands with fate in tenderly cruel exchanges of passion.  They flirt with change and possibility while breathing new life into a loveless atmosphere. The aura of the earth is shifting,...

As part of Jared Lowe's Intro to Business classes, ten groups of students have developed their own companies to learn first-hand how to run a business and sell their products for maximum profit. Our staff...

This is Ranger Country is a community-wide podcast for families, students, staff, & alumni. Keep up on school events, sports, community projects, and segments highlighting the amazing people and businesses...

For the first time in weeks, I turned on my oil diffuser.  I was feeling particularly stressed last night and the bottle of essential oils labeled “Stress Relief” seemed like nothing more than...

In the eighth grade, we wrote books.  It was a freedom granted to the Challenge Language Arts students as an opportunity to give our overworked brains a break as we picked at the storytelling instincts...

Senior Roman Kalaczinski wanted to apply for an internship this past summer.  He tried to look through resources provided by the school to help him gain some work experience, but quickly grew frustrated...

I spend my fourth hour in AP Lit everyday.  Recently, we’ve been dissecting pieces of poets’ souls as we discuss the figurative language sprinkled throughout these masterpieces that are life personified.  And...

Here is the link to the class of 2022's Lip Sync at this year's Homecoming assembly. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMx31gAwsgE

I’ve always adored the way that raindrops and music notes weave together to form harmonies that satisfy my longing for peace.  And I’ve always envied artists that can write lyrics so powerful that...

Brad and John discuss the upcoming Homecoming festivities as well as all the fun to come in the community! https://open.spotify.com/episode/7Erl7LcOOc2e9O5IzpIWQ0

This event has been postponed until further notice because of a thunderstorm warning on Monday morning.  When history teacher Brad Anderson was a student at Pine Ridge Elementary School, he thought...

I have 11 months until adulthood, and while I crave the independence that will come with July 22nd, I also can’t help but feel as though my childhood is ending at a rate quicker than I can cope with,...

The rain gurgles as the drops chase each other through my gutters. That and the thunder are the only decipherable noises over the sound of my fingers typing away at my lavender-colored keyboard—the same...

John and Brad discuss the start of the school year, the upcoming Homecoming activities, and of course, the Cascade Heritage Day, along with a little sideline into the football season. https://open.spotify.com/episode/6m2vTfUVgDp82twDGNNZVT

I found out about this album the same way I do with most of my music—an app that I spend too much of my time on, scrolling through pointless videos about books I should read and artists that write songs...

The top of one side of history teacher Kyle Carhart’s room is decorated with colorful flags from the different countries he’s had the honor of visiting, and among all the bright flags, one stands out...

This week the guys thank our local bus drivers, give a fairly in-depth preview of Ranger football this season, and recommend that everyone head out to Ranger Stadium to enjoy the atmosphere, camaraderie,...

She uses summer as an excuse to grow into her own skin. For she thinks she is prettier when cast in a bronze hue and adorned with freckles; they paint her face in constellations that reflect the night...

Brad and John are back together after a week-long hiatus. They discuss the imminent beginning of school, the glory of summer vacation, and offer a few tips on where to go before the season passes you by.   https://open.spotify.com/episode/61b7cz0vA64GDzvEuxBwpr

The BIG Announcement!!!   https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Z1peExIxF8S4CthjtgSvG

In this episode, Brad and John discuss summer, lake time, a brief chat at Cascade Firefighters (more to come soon), and our top five (family-friendly) small breweries in Ranger Country.   https://open.spotify.com/episode/1PngkL95pQPWa94RDZBgzJ

I’ve missed writing poetry. I’ve spent the past three months collecting stanzas to poems I won’t publish and titles to stories I won’t write—I’m trying not to live for the past, but to write...