Kiera is a junior continuing her writing journey with The Central Trend for a third year. Being on staff for the past few years has been one of her favorite parts of her high school experience. She is excited to step into the role of Copy Editor this year. When she isn’t found typing away on her computer, depending on the season, Kiera is most likely golfing or skiing. She also finds joy in spending time with her friends and family. She is barely prepared for her junior year and not at all prepared for the years after that, but she feels comfort in knowing she will be writing her way through it all.
Favorite book to gatekeep: The Green Glass Sea, by Ellen Klages; it was her fifth-grade book project book that her mom recommended
Current obsession:Jane the Virgin; it's cheesy, but entertaining
Favorite movie:10 Things I Hate About You
Has she gotten over hating steak? No, and don't expect her to
A few weeks ago, I had the privilege to attend the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association (MIPA) Conference with the staff of The Central Trend. During the conference, I attended a review writing class...
When the original Enola Holmes movie came out in 2020, I think it’s safe to assume that I wasn’t the only girl getting caught up in a Louis Partridge spiral. While I wouldn’t call it quite an obsession,...
Senior Olivia Thornley cannot stay away from the water.
After being a part of the swim and dive team at FHC for three years, Olivia left the swim program to fully focus on another aquatic sport: crew.
“I...
Is there any way to develop a club with no set activity for every meeting?
Apparently yes, as junior Sam Wordhouse discovered.
“I was in the [FX] control room with [seniors] Andrew Weiskopf...
I want to preface this by saying that I am a hypocrite.
I buy my dresses for school dances at Von Maur and Macy’s, and I always attempt to find one at Windsor. My dresses are often plain colors....
Opinions expressed in editorials on The Central Trend are the view of the individual writer and are not the opinion of the entire staff of The Central Trend or the Forest Hills Central staff or administration.
Upon...
The pieces of the puzzle are scattered. They litter the entirety of the table that they are sitting on. At one point, portions of other puzzles were thrown in the mix as well. Those pieces have now either...
These are the words I thought I’d never write.
This is my 100th story for The Central Trend.
100 stories written, (nearly) 100 stressful nights spent writing. Two, going on three, years have...
The smell of chlorine lingered as cheers roared; comradery hung in the air. Two years later, the memory is still fresh in senior Sydney VanLente’s mind.
“It was probably my sophomore year,”...
Never in my life, prior to this weekend, had I watched Hocus Pocus. Despite being a very popular movie that came out almost thirty years ago, it never interested me. I had no idea what it was about or...
To you, my almost birthday twin,
Eleven days. It’s just eleven days. Eleven days of the “in-between.”
The days that have haunted me for eleven years have returned for their sixteenth year....
“Hey guys,” starts senior Val Garza, “welcome to the very first episode of We’re Not Responding.”
Seniors Val Garza, Celine Merhi, and Masyn Cole released the first episode of their podcast...
When I walked into AP Seminar a couple of weeks ago and found junior Millie Alt reading The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, I was beyond excited. I had forgotten that the third book of The Inheritence...
A hot air balloon floating through the sky, slowly drifting toward the water. The black, red, and yellow pattern filled my eyesight. I began to feel like an ant in my own yard. I was in awe of the sheer...
Senior Emma Raisch has a collection of 50 plants, all with names. One of these shares a name with a Minecraft Panda.
Emma and her sister, Megan, have been buying and naming plants for years. Some are...
Opinions expressed in editorials on The Central Trend are the view of the individual writer and are not the opinion of the entire staff of The Central Trend or the Forest Hills Central staff or administration.
On...
I don’t know what kinds of thrift stores these girls with hauls on my TikTok For You Page go to, but whatever they are have way better stuff than anywhere I go—I rarely have any luck.
Occasionally,...
A bracelet was tied six months prior; the same one was broken one week after.
A black cord snapped after its miserable weeks hanging on by a thread. A tap, tap, tap of a gold charm reverberated through...
I am not a fan of the recent warm weather.
Every day, I find myself searching for an outfit to wear that can keep me warm in my freezing classrooms but also cool enough so that I don’t overheat...
What was your reaction to getting on prom court?
"I was excited that I was nominated by my friends to be on court. It was a cool feeling."
What are your short-term future plans?
"Next year I will...
Opinions expressed in editorials on The Central Trend are the view of the individual writer and are not the opinion of the entire staff of The Central Trend or the Forest Hills Central staff or administration.
In...
Growing up, senior Liza McCarthy’s little brother never had to be worried about being asked to fake an ailment. Her stuffed animals, however, were not so lucky.
“Instead of setting up doctor's offices...
I often find myself arriving at home with an unquenchable thirst, but absolutely nothing sounds good enough to drink.
One day last week, this feeling struck me yet again. Luckily, my mom happened...
It’s all for her. It always has been.
Screaming “All Too Well (Ten Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)” in Emmy’s kitchen with the windows wide open for the high school parking...
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, kids' shoes are superior.
Not only are they cheaper, but they often come in much more exciting, creative, and self-expressive colors and patterns. I’d...
Lately, life’s been eerily similar to the speed that my mom and I had to drive with our hazards on when the gears wouldn’t shift in our car. While I would’ve expected 55 miles per hour, it seemed...
Before COVID-19, I had been making the over 1000-mile road trip to Colorado every winter and spring break since second grade.
Over that time, it’s gotten easier to relinquish the pain of everyone...
When traveling to Florida for the Varsity Dance Team’s National Competition, senior Emily Smith was struck with a pounding headache.
On a normal day, away from a dance competition, Emily would start...
I cleaned out my strawberry-patterned Kate Spade purse this week. I found a small picture that brought back memories as fast as a flash flood.
I was taken back to a night in a wood-paneled kitchen...
Last summer, I read the book House of Salt and Sorrows, and I had no clue what to think.
I never knew who the “bad guy” was until the end of the novel, which made me love it; The Weekend Away on...
Going into her freshman year and first time golfing ever, senior Alyssa Cheslek wouldn’t have expected to become a team captain a few years later.
Since the varsity golf team is limited in size...
Practically every day, I sit down at my sea-foam green vanity and put my small, sterling silver hoop earrings in my first ear piercings. The only variety in the tedium that is my jewelry is changing my...
I love when songs for small artists on TikTok show up on my For You Page.
Oftentimes, if I exceptionally enjoy the song, I’ll follow the artist in preparation for when they release it or to remember...
*This review contains spoilers for Fable and mild spoilers for Namesake.
The Pirate Fairy made me fall in love with a new branch of fantasy: a life crashing along treacherous waves.
Sure, it...
She used to dream of carriages drawn by miniature horses on the grounds of her most frequently visited ski hill.
She imagined that her family had bought the whole place, and she was free to roam. She...
When freshman Thomas Paplawsky decided to go on an ice fishing trip, he wasn't expecting to find himself sprawled on his stomach across a layer of thin ice.
“It was on an ice fishing camping trip,”...
I am a firm believer that songs should not have busy backgrounds.
Lyrics to a song are what detailing is to a dress. While it isn’t necessary, it adds more depth and takes the listener into the mind...
When did I become two different people?
My camera roll is full of photos of myself taken from horrendous angles that I chose to send to my friends. They’re quite possibly the worst photos I’ve ever...
Senior Ivan Wheland walked into school one day and was told he was wearing “grandma shoes.”
“I bought a pair of New Balances from Goodwill, and I wore them to school, thinking they were fire,”...
My TikTok For You Page used to be an overabundance of songs by already popular artists. A platform embracing creativity quickly turned to only embracing the originality of people that are already known...
Cryptocurrency is a word I hear in my day-to-day business and I had no idea what it was. The way it is talked about seems to have a negative connotation, so I was determined to find out more and see why...
In all truthfulness, I’m not sure where to start with this book. While I understand every aspect, I cannot fathom what I read.
A Lesson in Vengeance enthralled me when a TikTok review of it stumbled...
I was never one to be alone.
But now, it seems that’s all that I ever am.
My Summer was the child that played on the swings every day, always alone. She was isolated but never seemed to look...
Eva Harshman and Addy Cousins—for being the stop and drop to my roll
Thank you for being here. Thank you for filling my days with joy when our sixth hour in room 139 finally commences. You two have...
While the student parking lot is often seen as a scene of accidents and dense traffic, security guard Jack Verhil sees something standing out more distinctly lately: vandalism.
For Verhil, the frequency...
*This review contains spoilers for Marvel's Eternals*
As a child, my brother practically forced me to watch Marvel movies with him.
From the world of X-Men to Captain America, he wanted me to watch...
It’s almost been six months.
Six months since your death. Six months since I saw you last. In that time, life has gone from me seeing you howl in the front hallway when I get home, to reminiscing...
Contrary to his prior expectations, freshman Charlie Molitor has become friends with several upperclassmen through simply taking photos.
Charlie has been partaking in photography since last year, but...
Conan Gray repeatedly amazes me with the relatability of his songs.
It's the forlorn longing for love found in “People Watching” or the relationship where one person expects the other to get back...
“I have this thing where I feel like there are, not ghosts, but shadows in my house. Whenever I'm home alone and stuff, I always think that somebody is walking past me or walking past a door and walking...
Growing up, I always assumed that I would be trick-or-treating on Halloween night. It was routine.
Lately, I have noticed a growing controversy over whether trick-or-treating should be done on the day...
Sophomore Alexa Fauson found herself browsing the aisles of Home Depot for a ceiling tile similar to the ones in school.
Alexa had taken a ceiling tile home from Honors English 10 teacher Ken George’s...
As a kid, Disney Channel Halloween movies and TV episode specials terrified me.
It didn’t matter how predictable the special was, I was still scared to go to bed afterward. There were a few exceptions...
She’s been on this earth for fifteen years.
Her brain feels smushed by three too many hammers to the head in the form of migraines. For one-third of her life, the spot right between her eyes has been...
Junior Ella Weichelt once found herself on the ground in the pouring rain at a horseshow.
She was riding her old pony on a showjumping course. The pouring rain made it incredibly slippery. When approaching...
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I love Melissa McCarthy. She brings comedic relief to movies like nobody else. I look forward to watching any movie that I see her involved in just so I...
The official arrival of autumn may be marked on a calendar, but it can typically be seen in the world around me. I would love to say that the changing of the leaves from chlorophyll breaking them down...
Senior Alex Hurt has never been on an American Sign Language field trip, despite being in level four. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ASL classes were unable to partake in their normal field trips last...
This story contains mentions of suicide and mildly graphic plot points.
Recently, I have found myself growing attached to books involving spooky, magical characters and fantastical surroundings. It...
What was your reaction to hearing your name called?
"I was pretty shocked when I first heard my name called because there are a ton of other people who deserve to be up there."
Why do you think you...
What made you decide to join Improv?
"My junior year, I got a call from our previous student director, Sarah Buchanan, to come to auditions, and sure enough, I made the team!"
What is your favorite...
She’s as fragile as glass. Words chip away at her until she starts to crack. When the fissures start to show, she fills them with glue, hoping to mask the pain. Physical wounds leave scuffs that she...
I’m not sure what I expected from He’s all That, but it both completely missed some expectations and fully met others. I knew it would be cringy, but I hoped that I could just call it a full-blown...
Summer has slid through the rain drain, and now I’m left with a dry road filled with flowers in the cracks that I want to grow. Seventy-four days are gone in the blink of an eye. I feel as if only a...
She paints flowers to calm her shaky hands. Her 1990s golf cart is covered in them. Bright hues of yellow in the center of the flowers remind her of the sun; it reminds her of the joy she has yet to find.
She...
Honors English 9 and AP Seminar teacher Kelli Potts found a surprising relationship between teaching and being a mother.
Her students never influenced her into wanting kids; it was always something...
I have loved Olivia Rodrigo since her An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success days.
And when she finally got all the recognition she deserved from her song “drivers license,” I was thrilled. Releasing...
I have been following Peach Martine on TikTok for a couple of months, so I have heard her voice frequently. It never gets old. The number of times I have heard small pieces of "POSTER KID" scrolling through...
Junior Katelyn Bartels faced more than just COVID-19 issues during her competitive gymnastics season last year. Before the pandemic, she was also injured to the point of not being able to compete.
“I...
I met her on the first day of fifth grade. Almost five years ago, we stood one person away from each other, never knowing how close we’d become. We sat in a field oblivious that she was soon to be number...
Film title: The Clinic
Genre: Documentary
Interviewee: Collin Ward
Group members: Luke Matelic and Gabe Moraru
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AAGSYgy8VM
What inspired you to get into...
When I first picked up my copy of The Project by Courtney Summers, I was overwhelmed. I immediately felt like I had picked up the third book in a series or missed one episode of a show that explained the...
Film title: Bucket List
Genre: Comedy
Interviewee: Jordan Blum
Group members: Furzaan Abidi and Daniel Dykstra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLdO_s47gjQ
Can you give a five-minute...
Film title: Who Did It?
Genre: Drama
Interviewee: Ellie Field
Group members: Julia Bouma, Tatum Otolski, and Morghan Tilton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9w71gveOoU
Can...
Film title: The Blue Hunt
What is the genre: Suspense/Horror
Interviewee: Theryn Hallock
Group members: Olivia Dewald-Davis, Claudia Folkert, and Libby Moog
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5j6tlO4gzQ
Can...
Check out the Q&As below with the participants of the 2021 Film Fest. We interviewed a member of each team to learn more about their movie. Along with interviewing a member from each of the teams,...
Rather than simply celebrating with cake, balloons, and a party on his birthday, senior Mason Myers spent his birthday constructing a computer.
Mason went online to purchase all the materials necessary...
Recently, I have found myself unable to put together an outfit without a flannel. It's become extremely rare to see me without that trademark piece of clothing.
I am not sure why this is the case....
Action and superhero movies have become my go-to option for comfort. Marvel movies specifically remind me of a friend I don’t talk to much but love greatly. This draws me to superhero movies and also...
