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The Student Voice of Forest Hills Central

The Central Trend

The Student Voice of Forest Hills Central

The Central Trend

The Student Voice of Forest Hills Central

The Central Trend

Lynlee Derrick

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief

Lynlee is a senior and is starting her final year in the midst of all this COVID-19 chaos, which is fitting for her strange luck. Room 139—home to The Central Trend—has been her lifeline since she was 13, and now, turning 17 soon, the newspaper and its now unusable, kind furniture have seen her grow into who she is. This year has proved there is no guarantee, but that hasn’t stopped Lynlee from enjoying what this new normal consists of. From laggy Zoom calls to attempts at vegan baking to writing imperfect poems, she’s still finding a way to smile, a way to live, a way to take up some space each and every day.

 

Favorite part about being on staff: Being able to express everything through the medium of words on a well-viewed platform is such a powerful gift not everyone has, and it’s radically freeing to do so

Favorite type of story: Profiles and columns

Her guilty pleasure: Etsy magnets, “Geek’d” by Bhad Bhabie, and “How I Moved to Europe” vlogs

Grammar rules she has invented: Lowercase letters reign supreme every day and every hour as capitalization is obsolete, em dashes are mandatory in every paragraph, and the oxford comma is necessary

All content by Lynlee Derrick
Emma Zawacki

Emma Zawacki

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief March 15, 2021

Name: Emma Zawacki Grade: 11 1. What prompted you to start writing? "The first time I ever wrote anything for fun and genuinely enjoyed it was [in] eighth grade. [Eighth grade English teacher]...

Linus Kaechele

Linus Kaechele

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief February 17, 2021

Name: Linus Kaechele Grade: 12 Position on staff: Managing Editor of Online Assignments 1. What drew you to writing? “Originally, it was the secrecy and intimacy of writing letters. Before...

Lauren Batterbee

Lauren Batterbee

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief February 1, 2021

Name: Lauren Batterbee Grade: 11 Position on staff: Print Managing Editor 1. What does using your words entail? "I spend a lot of time on my writing, and a lot of half-started columns, editorials,...

Abby Wright

Abby Wright

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief January 18, 2021

Name: Abby Wright Grade: 12 Position: Editor in Chief 1. What do words mean to you? “They mean a lot to me because writing has always been the one thing that I can do—that I am good at. I’ve...

The snow still falls every year, and even though I despise what that entails, I'm hopeful that from here on, I can choose beauty.

This is my final semester, and I am not sad

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief January 5, 2021

This is my final semester at FHC—a goodbye in a wintry climate, one Michigan never holds back on with her icy blows and fickle snow. And I am not afraid of leaving. I would walk across the stage now...

Lynlee Derrick’s year in review

Lynlee Derrick’s year in review

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief December 30, 2020

Creating a home in staff this year has undoubtedly made this year more manageable. With the rough end of the year last year—and subsequently never getting a true goodbye with the 2020 seniors and...

I've learned that light is the enemy

I’ve learned that light is the enemy

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief December 16, 2020

The warm glow in the corner of my room leaves the air umber and undying as my eyes traverse the popcorn ceiling with peaks of gloom.   Uninvited, the light still stays as if believes it’s presence...

The Greedy Hands decided for me

The Greedy Hands decided for me

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief December 2, 2020

Among the dull crates, splintered by the Greedy Hands and thwarted by the berating heat, laid my life with nothing to predate.   It was all I knew as I sat alongside the motley of colors I longed...

TCT's The Countless Thanks: Lynlee Derrick

TCT’s The Countless Thanks: Lynlee Derrick

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief November 24, 2020

My biology group, the “Clowns,” for supporting me, even when I can’t say phosphorylation I genuinely think I would not be passing AP Biology without you guys. Amelia, Megan, Abigail, Val, Julia—you...

Shattered glass left behind by stomping shoes and a demanding timeline.

She can no longer glue glass back together

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief November 18, 2020

The sun beat down on the concrete that was rough from inception, rough from use, rough even against the warmth from above— a show of amity despite the root of eternal animosity—   And she...

A graphic about the importance of wearing masks taken from Instagram.

I am overstimulated yet still lucky

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief November 18, 2020

I was asked how I was feeling by Mrs. Penninga on a Zoom call while I scraped the edges of an empty cup of instant pancakes (the syrup flavor, of course), and I truly didn’t know. I feel a lot, honestly....

Laura Stiles: Student Council involvement

Laura Stiles: Student Council involvement

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief November 17, 2020

Name: Laura Stiles Role: Student Council coordinator 1. What changes have you had to make in order to still have a Family Promise fundraiser and a Rangers Care week? "I guess one of the best things...

Kristy Butler: teacher involvement

Kristy Butler: teacher involvement

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief November 13, 2020

Name: Kristy Butler Role: Biology and chemistry teacher and fundraiser organizer 1. What is your role in Family Promise week? "My role in Family Promise week is to help organize the student promotion...

Matthew Mahoney: NHS

Matthew Mahoney: NHS

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief November 12, 2020

Name: Matthew Mahoney Grade: 12 Role: NHS Board member 1. What is Family Promise week to you? "Family Promise week is where we provide volunteer opportunities and work to raise money for the...

Mason Yarnell

Mason Yarnell

Lynlee Derrick, Managing Editor of Assignments November 11, 2020

Name: Mason Yarnell Grade: 12 Roles: Dirt Merchant and Devil 2 1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of having a smaller cast compared to other years? "An advantage to having a smaller...

Mina Siebert: NHS

Mina Siebert: NHS

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief November 9, 2020

Name: Mina Siebert Grade: 12 Role: NHS Board member 1. What is Family Promise week? "Family Promise week is a week where opportunities are available for students to raise money, volunteer,...

A picture of lakeside scenery that was taken by Abby Wright.

Words are surely real

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief November 4, 2020

Reveling in the words of The Picture of Dorian Gray—the intricate descriptions and long-winded commentaries on society and beauty included—I stumbled upon a line that practically highlighted itself. “Was...

A photograph of a "Hate has no home here sign" in Clinton, New Jersey.

I wish hate truly had no home here

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief November 3, 2020

I see the signs that say “Hate has no home here” in the occasional yard. It’s not quite common, but having one at the entrance of my neighborhood gives me a little bit of hope for a change in our...

A picture of a blue-grey bedsheet.

His childhood souvenir is a knot—his knot

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief October 28, 2020

Abounding affection from those indigo eyes ceased his first cry, constituting his first memory on the concealed path of life. Life was so shaky, so indefinite and remote to his newborn mind, so when those...

Homecoming Court Q&As: Amelia Pointer

Homecoming Court Q&As: Amelia Pointer

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief October 22, 2020

1. What was your reaction when you heard your name called? "Honestly, [I was] really surprised. I had no idea that I was going to be picked for court; it was the furthest thing from my mind. I didn't...

A picture of people who remind me of home, or room 139, and the safety those four walls provide me.

The world outside this room seems indomitable

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief October 21, 2020

By now, I’ve mentioned this room and this staff and the Greta Gerwig posters on the wall enough to annoy even myself. It’s a world of its own—our world in room 139. Yet as strong as those white-brick...

big or small, it’s all the same

big or small, it’s all the same

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief October 21, 2020

the sun climbed into my windows, an easy task on a Wednesday morning— I never remember to close my blinds on Tuesday nights.   I like it when the night keeps me company, I guess.   yet...

Another year that the sky can see

Another year that the sky can see

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief September 30, 2020

It’s fitting that   despite the cerulean sky sifting through the forests, and the trees clutching their last signs of youth, denying Mother Nature in shades of viridescent vitality, and despite...

Improv Q&A: Russell Baird

Improv Q&A: Russell Baird

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief September 24, 2020

Name: Russell Baird Grade: 11th 1. How did you get into improv? Why did you decide to try out? “I got into it by doing other theater programs like the play, and I signed up because it looked...

The green, growing grass that greets me every morning.

I rather like the grass

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief September 23, 2020

I love the simplicity of the grass.   It has always been green, an unwavering testament to its health and the gentle love from rolling spring rains, And it has always been home in which we convene, trampled...

Improv Q&A: Mason Yarnell

Improv Q&A: Mason Yarnell

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief September 21, 2020

Name: Mason Yarnell Grade: 12th 1. How did you get into improv? Why did you decide to try out? “I started doing improv last year because I thought it would be fun, and I've had a great time...

I'm far from where I thought I would be

I’m far from where I thought I would be

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief September 16, 2020

My teeth are unaligned at best, and I have braces, and I haven’t written any college essays, and I’m breaking out as if my hormones want me to acknowledge their persistent presence, and I’m sixteen. So...

Reminiscing on my long brown hair.

Eternally thankful for TCT (and Lady Fate)

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief September 9, 2020

My community has unintentionally been built from, to quote Bob Ross, “happy little accidents,” and The Central Trend has been no exception for me. I don’t remember much from class selection for...

Memories of then get me through the now

Memories of then get me through the now

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief May 28, 2020

Three months ago I was complaining about work, and now I’m unemployed—Grand Coney is one of COVID-19’s many business-based victims forced into forever closure. Three months ago, I was dancing in...

See with your heart

See with your heart

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief May 19, 2020

Upon the stabbing sticks next to her sat an unregistered face that after calibrated efforts, she couldn’t erase.   At first unwanted yet now welcomed, the face grew a body without...

So she painted

So she painted

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief May 11, 2020

Perfection was merely a word in a world where words were taken with the wind and left shamefully unheard,   so she began to show, not speak.   Never the most creative or crafty or controlled, she...

Sukhpreet Singh

Sukhpreet Singh

Lynlee Derrick, Managing Editor of Assignments May 6, 2020

Name: Sukhpreet Singh Grade: 11 Role: Marching band drum major and band student 1. How have you been practicing outside of school? How do you conduct, too? "Following the beginning of quarantine,...

I fear the loss of what I do not have

I fear the loss of what I do not have

Lynlee Derrick, Editor in Chief April 27, 2020

If I close my eyes and let go of your hand, it’s loss. irrevocable, irreversible, irreparable, loss.   I no longer have your hand weaved into mine— cemented, almost, into mine— and that...

Unfortunately, my PicsArt skills aren't good enough to create something better than this.

Three songs have brought color to my life

Lynlee Derrick, Managing Editor of Assignments April 13, 2020

When Kanye West said he had synesthesia, I instantly thought I did too. The reason? I wanted to be him. I, thirteen and a middle school girl, wanted to be Kanye, a successful middle-aged man. Yet despite...

Ali Azeem

Ali Azeem

Lynlee Derrick, Managing Editor of Assignments March 13, 2020

Name: Ali Azeem Grade: 12 Character: Gargoyle 1. Do you have a “ritual” before rehearsals or shows? "[The cast] always goes to Forest Hills Foods before every rehearsal at the FAC. I...

I've always come back to the flame

I’ve always come back to the flame

Lynlee Derrick, Managing Editor of Assignments March 9, 2020

I write my words often and passionately— with fervor and doubt and emotion and pain,   and yet you use yours in such devastating vain.   my hand is heavy as my lead fights the paper and...

I will see you in the spring

I will see you in the spring

Lynlee Derrick, Managing Editor of Assignments March 2, 2020

Rivers of flowers flood my sunbathing body, lapping over my sides as if molding to me. This quasi-clay of flowers encapsulates my body. My sides are undoubtedly captured as my eyes remain enraptured by...

The hidden arts at FHC series introduction

The hidden arts at FHC series introduction

Lynlee Derrick, Managing Editor of Assignments February 24, 2020

FHC is known for the Friday nights. We have a loud and proud student section, a dominating sports reputation, and academically advanced students. And it's everywhere. Photos of students hang in the hallways,...

A force too great

A force too great

Lynlee Derrick, Managing Editor of Assignments February 24, 2020

Southern heat berated the fall,  out ran the sweaters and warm drinks, fearing the shatter of the porcelain doll.   Leaves stay put, green and healthy, thriving on the spindly Elm...

You are the epicenter of my naivety

You are the epicenter of my naivety

Lynlee Derrick, Managing Editor of Assignments February 10, 2020

I used to believe everything that was sung to me in sweet a voice.   I believed that the factories on those hills, the one we always passed when we went for the zoo, were little cloud makers,...

Girls and boys sports Q&A: Kelsey Toole

Girls and boys sports Q&A: Kelsey Toole

Lynlee Derrick, Managing Editor of Assignments February 1, 2020

Name: Kelsey Toole Grade: 12 Sport played: girls varsity soccer 1. Do you believe that there's a difference between the treatment of male and female sports at a national level? "Yes, definitely....

Girls and boys sports Q&A: Rodrick DeOliviera

Girls and boys sports Q&A: Rodrick DeOliviera

Lynlee Derrick, Managing Editor of Assignments January 31, 2020

Name: Rodrick DeOliviera Grade: 11 Sport played: varsity boys soccer 1. Do you believe that there's a difference between male and female sports at a national level with sports like soccer? "I...

Sarah Wordhouse.

It’s rather funny

Lynlee Derrick, Managing Editor of Assignments January 27, 2020

it’s funny how the eyes of a stranger can change color   seas of blue harmonies of golden hues the grey of a tattered shoe   but the look inside— the peer into their emotions—   waves...

Image released January 2nd, 2020 from a government department in Gippsland, Australia.

2020 has started off with a vengeance

Lynlee Derrick, Managing Editor of Assignments January 21, 2020

I’ve known snow my whole life. And on December 31st, I knew the sloppy slush that scattered itself across roadways, hardly a threat to my New Years' Eve plans. But a little under 10,000 miles away,...

RAT Q&A: Alex Souza

RAT Q&A: Alex Souza

Lynlee Derrick, Managing Editor of Assignments January 14, 2020

Name: Alex Souza Grade: 12 1. What is your act? "I'm doing my rendition of 'Hey Jude' [by the Beatles] on the piano." 2. How did you prepare? "I've had this electric piano in my house for...

Staff Q&As: Lynlee Derrick

Staff Q&As: Lynlee Derrick

Lynlee Derrick, Managing Editor of Assignments January 11, 2020

Name: Lynlee Derrick Grade: 11 Position: Managing Editor of Assignments Semesters spent on TCT: 5 1. Why did you decide to join TCT? "Going into freshman year, I didn't want to take gym. Instead,...

You were of summer, but I am of winter

You were of summer, but I am of winter

Lynlee Derrick, Managing Editor of Assignments December 31, 2019

the sun eclipsed the moon and everything broke.   a bright light came and went soon like a bulb bursting brightly,   and you flooded my vision.   a film on reel yet none of it real— none...

Holiday Series introduction and announcement

Holiday Series introduction and announcement

Lynlee Derrick, Managing Editor of Assignments December 16, 2019

When the calendar flips to December, labels already fill the dates. Boxing day, Hanukkah, Three Kings Day, Kwanzaa, Christmas. Each holiday has its own day full of celebrations and cultivated culture--ones...

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