"One year, I was at nationals; I believe this was two years ago. I was competing Advanced on the trampoline, so it wasn't even my hardest level, which would be Elite. I was doing a routine with a difficulty...
1. How is FilmFest structured?
"There are fifteen films this year; there are four different theaters. It’s like a regular film festival, where there are multiple films playing at the same time. There...
Normally, one would hear the phrase “Lights! Camera! Action!” behind the scenes of a movie or show. Two weekends ago, though, the lights, camera, and action were brought to the grand stage of the robotics...
"I always wanted to get eyelash extensions, but it wasn't until my friend Serena got them that I actually got them too. She got them done by this girl named Megan Hamilton; a lot of people from Forest...
As a child, the most common sickness I fell ill with was not the flu; rather, it was "wanderlust," or the overwhelming desire to travel.
My days were constantly plagued with dreams of traveling to...
There are many sides to every tale, and the narrative depends on the storyteller. On occasion, a nifty bard will be able to convey even the most unexpected sides in a powerful way.
Just like every...
What's the worst thing you can call a girl as she's growing up?
Bossy.
When a girl is plastered with the label "bossy," it's more than a blow to her confidence. It's a blow to her future.
If I...
"I started playing piano when I was three. I watched my brother play it, so I wanted to learn it. I started violin when I was seven; I don't remember why I wanted to start playing it, but I did. I picked...
As a self-proclaimed nerd, I've seen my fair share of science fiction movies. However, only a select few make a deep, lasting impression on my mind, Annihilation being one of the few.
Directed by Alex...
"When I lived in Palestine in fifth, sixth, and seventh grade, there was a lot less violence. It wasn't bad at all. Sometimes, there would be tear gas bombs, but it never got worse than that. The tear...
I was raised on knock-off brands, and it was detrimental to my growth.
This morning, I cut my finger as I sliced Aldi-bought strawberries. I let out a half-hearted sigh, which matched the plastic knife...
Did you know that the dimples on a golf ball help reduce drag, allowing the ball to fly further than one without dimples?
Did you know that ice skaters actually glide on a thin layer of water because...
"A trip I went on with the Boy Scouts is the one to Mackinac Island. We go up as a troop, along with a couple of other troops in West Michigan. We go up together and act as the Honor Guard for Mackinac...
If you know me, you know I have a Cheetos obsession.
I will shamelessly buy family-sized bags with the knowledge that I'll be the only person eating them; the entire package would be gone in less than...
In 1954, a group of eleven boys were invited to an Oklahoman camp called Robber's Cave.
These boys did not know each other initially, but they bonded through typical camp games during the course of...
"Coptic Orthodox Christianity is the oldest and most traditional form of Christianity. Coptic is actually a language; when we do our liturgies, they're in Coptic, Arabic, and English. A lot of our hymns...
Four years may seem like a long time, but for most high schoolers, it flies by in the blink of an eye.
Even with the common goal of making the days count and forming lasting friendships, every last...
Some of my fondest childhood memories include three iconic images: experimentation, Grandma's house, and ramen noodles.
My family takes ramen very seriously; it was always a race to see who could whip...
"The story of how my grandparents met is this: my grandpa liked this girl, and this girl was not my grandma. This girl was actually my grandma's roommate. My grandpa finally got the courage to ask this...
Imagine if, upon growing up, we all received the superpowers we wished for as children.
Some of us would have the ability to turn invisible, others would soar in the sky on their morning commute, and...
We often hear the phrase "unapologetically you," but what does it mean? What does it look like? How does it manifest into actions?
With the launch of his blog, Peachy Keen Boy, sophomore Aaron Jachim...
"I was coming back from my grandma's house. I was probably five or six years old. The week before, we were talking to my parents about getting a dog, and my dad said 'No, end of story.' So we get back...
"Flippina�� sweet!"
While this phrase was coined by the timeless movie, Napoleon Dynamite, the words are presently embodied by junior Evan Nickel in all aspects of his life. From tumbling through...
They say that people meet their soulmate at the most unexpected of times.
The sun shining on Fulton Street had begun to hide behind some large clouds, and a rippling wind tickled at the exposed brick...
Noon on a typical Tuesday usually involves the dim banter of student conversation bouncing from table to table in the lunchroom.
On this particular Tuesday, however, students in FHC's American Sign...
I'm still thinking about what happened that day. There I was, sitting in a hospital bed, listening to Colton profess his undying love for me. Haha, just kidding. It's not that dramatic.
It's just that...
"During break, I went up to Glen Arbor and Sleeping Bear. We usually go in the summer, so we were like, "We should go in the winter!a�� I love winter a lot. It's so pretty because there is so much...
Christmas has just passed, and most of us still hold hearts of gratitude. Some, however, did not receive the miracle they had hoped for. Take, for example, the members of the Centers for Disease Control...
Imagine walking into a large, colorful grocery store. It's full of sights, smells, and sounds. However, where there is usually a feeling of hustle-and-bustle, one of warmth and calmness is found.
The...
Wren stared at him.
He stared back.
She stared right back, except harder.
Finally, the corners of Colton's eyes crinkled, and the smallest giggle escaped his mouth. Realizing what he had done,...
The new semester looms on the horizon. The halls become filled with a rainstorm of fingertips atop keyboards, each cloud with a new schedule brewing in mind.
Every student is poised to leap the moment...
I start my day thawing my fingertips out in my car. My hands float over the heat vents as I look out into the empty parking lot around me.
It's still dark out at 6:34 AM, but the sky glows grey along...
"Mrs. Richardson bought the stock supply of fruit flies. Each one had a different mutation, and we had to look at all the different variations under the microscope. Then, we chose which mutation we wanted...
The lights are flashing. The camera is clicking, capturing rapid-fire snapshots of the stage. The action has begun.
Junior Katie McClure sits on a bright red chair, poised elegantly and ready for business....
The world is giving rise to a mysterious trend.
It's one with heavily debated pros and cons, one that many people- young and old- are adopting, and one with long-term effects not quite known yet: veganism....
Every Saturday, a truck pulls up to the newly-remodeled Arby's on 28th Street, delivering a week's supply of meat. Senior Jackson Baldwin is part of the crew responsible for hauling the shipments into...
My arm still kind of hurts, but I felt like I needed to write some stuff down. I don't even have my journal with me; I'm writing this on a flimsy napkin. It's probably going to rip at the force of my pen....
You've seen Asian glow-- an unfortunate Chinese uncle, only two sips into his dinner toast, yet already bright red in the face. You know people who genuinely can't stand the bitter taste of coffee-- or...
About a month ago, I heard someone say that the meaning of life is nothing but endorphins. I wasn't sure if they were joking or not, but I gave the comment some serious thought. Endorphins act as a body's...
"My family travels a lot. I've been to over half the states in the US, a bunch of places in Europe, and some places in Asia. It's hard to think of places I haven't been.
The first place I grew up in was...
Wren woke up confused. She wasn't even sure that her eyes actually opened when she tried to look around. Was that a bright light shining in her eye?
She blinked a few times until she could discern...
Kelly Cool - for taking me in
KCool, thank you for letting me be an honorary Cool sister. Thank you for showing me how Americans do Thanksgiving, Easter, and hand-crafted graduation parties. Thank you...
Picture this: you're driving home, late at night, down a fast-paced road. Normally, you'd be fine. Today, however, you can't see a thing.
The snow has become a dust storm, through which nothing is...
While most fall sports are ending, FHC Girls Swim and Dive is still going at full throttle.
"The states meet comes right after regionals, which comes right after conference," senior diver Colleen Kramer...
November is the month of gratitude and giving thanks to the people in your life, but I believe that we shouldn't forget about the little things: the small, recurring victories that hide in the crevices...
"For Thanksgiving, our whole family on my dad's side gets together. We all go over to one of my aunt's or one of my uncle's houses, and we all eat dinner together. Then at Christmas, we all do the same...
A taste of thrill ran through Wren's throat. The adrenaline was almost unbearable to her chest; her heart was beating beating beating fast fast fast. Hour number three of driving.
Earlier that night,...
I see myself there-- seated quietly, working at my desk during second hour physics. My friend and I are finishing a lab report, calculating velocity and marveling in the beauty of derivatives. We are playing...
"For all of the study events [of Science Olympiad], you get to make a note sheet, which is the front and back sides of a piece of paper. In order to get the most information on it, we always make it size...
A thin beam of sunlight shined through my car window, breaking up the damp, gray layer that had clouded the sky all morning.
My dad and I were cruising down East Beltline as the rain finally stopped....
Every Monday and Tuesday evening, FHC marching band has rehearsal. Senior Joe Batdorf is a snare drum section leader, but he rarely ever makes it to Tuesday band rehearsals.
All is well, however, because...
They say "another day, another dollar," and it certainly rings true for me. It is, indeed, another day at the restaurant. I do, indeed, hope to make another dollar-- if not a little more (tips, please?)....
Nothing gets the student body thrilled like an undefeated football season, and FHC has just that. Supporting the football players are not only the cheerleaders, student section, and parents, but the marching...
I remember every meet vividly, each image in my mind as piercing and clear as the pain of the race. I remember how the cold spikes felt in my hand the first time I held them. I remember the stampede of...
When people think of FHC's band, they think of the highly regarded marching program: halftime performances, fifth quarter drumline cadences, and homecoming parades. Many overlook other FHC groups that...
"So [my freshman year in high school, for homecoming], I really wanted to ask this girl that I knew that lived down the street from me. But she had a date already, and she's like "Oh, I'll set you up with...
"[Regarding what it feels like to be the Head Oompa Loompa of the senior lip sync:] I'm under a lot of pressure here. If I don't nail it, then I kinda let the whole senior class down. My inspiration? A...
Chapter 2
Time's going by pretty quickly, and I can't tell if I like it or not.
On one hand, it's one day closer to leaving.
On the other hand, it's one day less that I have to save money for the...
For many, the zoo is merely a childhood memory. For freshman Amelia Pointer, however, it's the exciting destination of a biology class field trip and a unique chance to witness textbook material in live...
"Worlds is a really unique experience; I think it's around thirty thousand individuals who go from around the entire world. I think there are over fifty or sixty countries. There are sponsors there that...
I stopped dancing this year. I started fighting with my words. I stopped worrying about getting pulled over for driving past 10 PM (I'm still sixteen). I started using my voice.
Birthdays are strange....
High school is about the holistic experience. It takes great dedication and passion to take advantage of FHC's myriad of sports programs, but senior Ben Finkelstein has mastered the art of extracurricular...
Two days ago, someone called me an AP farmer. I spent the rest of the day feeling attacked until I realized that I wasn't obligated to prove myself to anyonea�� for the same reasons that I don't fit...
It's still dark out, and the rain pounds on my windshield as I try to navigate my way through the windy, red-brick roads of Eastown. What usually looks perky during the day now looks ominous in this storm,...
Hello there; I see you've stumbled upon my short story. This is a story about seeing the world inside and outside of home. I'll be posting a new chapter every other Tuesday. Stay tuned.
Chapter 1
This...
Senior Ellie Matelic breathes a sigh of relief as she finally unloads her bags after a long, but enjoyable, weekend at Camp Geneva for her class' senior retreat. She's sore and tired, but she's content.
"It...
"It's a totally different experience [in the student section] this year as a senior. I feel like everyone just goes so much harder at it. Tonight, I'm wearing a pink tutu, pink paint-- head-to-toe pink!...
Articles don't usually anger me, but this one did.
I traced a series of frustrated psychologists' articles back to the original aggressor: microbiologist Alex B. Berezow accusingly declares that psychology...
If you deconstructed a face, you'd see that nearly everyone boils down to the same features: two eyes, one nose, one mouth. Stray hair, and a forehead that doesn't fit quite right. It's the price of familiarity....
Counselor Teresa Miller is flooded with emotions as she looks around her office one last time. The countless pictures of past students are packed neatly into boxes; the desk, once merrily cluttered with...
They say we are sheltered. They say we aren't exposed to the real world. They say we are blind to the world. They even have a name for it: The Forest Hills Bubble.
However, we can tear down the stereotype...
If someone were to ask me about my hobbies and interests, I'd probably list off the same list of generic ones: cross country, dance, track, Model UN, marching band. Hobbies one would expect. Interests...
Junior Ashley Jenkins still remembers how intimidating high school seemed on her first day of freshman year. Like any ninth grader, she felt dwarfed and overwhelmed. Luckily, this was not her first time...
I woke up Sunday morning ravenous for a new adventure. With nothing to do until lunchtime, I decided to go on a drive and let my subconscious lead the way.
A few months ago, I was absentmindedly flipping...
