“There'll come a time in the future when I shan't mind about this anymore, when I can look back and say quite peacefully and cheerfully how silly I was. No, no, I don't want that time to come ever. I...

On each trip that senior Ben Evans goes on, he collects rocks. “If I go to the beach, I don’t really look for beach glass,” Ben said. “I go pick up rocks. As a kid, I would go look for cool...

Singer-songwriter Laufey is no stranger to love and all its foolish tendencies. In her new deluxe release, A Matter of Time: The Final Hour, she explores the addictiveness of toxic love and subsequent...

Many FHC students witness the varsity cheer team perform routines at assemblies, as well as rile up the crowd on the football sidelines. Although their role in the student body is significant, the team...

Senior Jomarie Rios wants to become a diagnostic sonographer. For those unaware of what that job entails, Jomarie likens it to the image of a pregnant woman getting an ultrasound. The medical worker...

I like to think of myself as an animated film connoisseur.  I used to believe it was some kind of unproclaimed rule for children to watch the full Disney, Pixar, and DreamWorks catalog, but as I’ve...

In the middle of Feb., Michiganders often experience a phenomenon called “false spring.” In between the melancholy, gray days of slush and incessant cloud cover, a few select days reach balmy 55 degrees...

For Forest Hills Northern senior and NHS Student President Aanya Dogra, the Quiz Bowl event of FHPS’s Go Orange Week has always been unexciting. Traditionally, each branch of FHPS schools—Central,...

Emily Henry is my Taylor Swift. This may seem ironic, as Swift’s “august” recently appeared in the film adaptation of Henry’s rom-com novel People We Meet on Vacation (PWMOV). However, I say...

There is a thin veil of normalcy that covers the omnipresent realm of lunacy.  Normalcy is the everyday: I wake up, go to school, then to practice for an extracurricular, and go home to eat dinner...

Many would consider middle school to be the prime time to read Young Adult (YA) books, such as The Hunger Games, Red Queen, and Harry Potter. While I would agree, I ended up waiting to read the most popular...

Last May, I walked into my sixth-hour class to find a peculiar object filling up a large space in the room. My first thought was that it was like a massive iPad on wheels. I had no idea what its purpose...

Senior Felix Sutter compares owning a lizard to owning a cat—just with a little less responsibility, as lizards are asleep for most daylight hours.  Felix grew up with a cat and has loved pets ever...

“On the Nature of Daylight” by Max Richter is one of the most famously overused songs in film, featured in Arrival, Shutter Island, and most recently, Chloé Zhao’s third feature film: Hamnet.  Still,...

For the fourth time, Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny is the most popular artist of the year on Spotify with 19.8 billion streams—a fair portion of which came from senior Jazzy Aguilera. Although Jazzy...

I have written so many words about the future.  In my embroidered lavender notebook, blank Google Docs, and random scraps of paper I find in restaurants, airplanes, and theaters, I chronicle my desires.  Inspiration...

I haven’t seen all of director Paul Thomas Anderson’s films—I’ve only seen three out of the 10—but I feel confident in declaring that his most recent film, One Battle After Another, is his magnum...

My countless thanks go out to…  Pop, for a life worth living Each year, I struggle with writing this paragraph. It’s hard for me to articulate how all-encompassing my gratitude and love...

Each year, on Thanksgiving morning, thousands of runners line up at Van Andel Arena in downtown Grand Rapids with anticipation. At 8:30 a.m., the 5K race starts, and adults and kids alike begin to run...

Brush, spray, slick. There is not a single hair misplaced on her head. I look in the mirror. I do the same. Brush, spray, slick. My hair doesn’t take well to confinement. I sigh. Maybe...

When Hamilton was released on Disney+ on July 3, 2020, thousands of people became obsessed with the hit musical—including senior Ava Casto.  “When the [COVID-19] lockdown started and Hamilton was...

For the past three years, one artist has dominated my Spotify listening: Laufey.  I first heard of her music a few months before her hit single, “From the Start,” was released. I began listening...

When senior Kennedy Doubler first watched Schindler’s List in her AP World History class last year, it made a profound impression on her—she realized that, like Steven Spielberg, she could impact an...

Multiple film scores can make me ascend to heaven, but there is none like that of 2010’s How to Train Your Dragon (HTTYD), one of the best animated films in existence.  Composed by virtuoso John...

Fantastical realms, orders of witches and wizards, and societal commentary: these are the elements of junior Faith Pawloski’s newest book draft.   Having been working on her novel for two years...

In August and September, writers often take to The Central Trend to write about their sorrows and sentiments as the new school year begins and fall returns, complete with pumpkin chai lattes and autumnal...

Contains major spoilers for The Last of Us Seasons 1 and 2. To preface this review, let me begin by saying that I am a massive fan of The Last of Us (TLOU). I entered this fandom through watching...

Love is easy. At least, that’s what Celine Song’s sophomore feature, Materialists, aims to prove to its audience.  Materialists follows Lucy (Dakota Johnson), an experienced New York City matchmaker...

At Haludam, kindness is the most important virtue to spread.

As a child, senior Ayla Wood would often watch episodes of the various Hello Kitty TV shows on cable. While watching an episode of Hello Kitty’s Furry Tale Theater, young Ayla was traumatized by Catula,...

It’s May 25, and I feel different now.  I feel different than on Aug. 21, 2024, when I recorded a four-second video in the morning before I left for school. In this clip, I whisper excitedly into...

Contains mild spoilers for Thunderbolts* and prior movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The last thing I was expecting from a Marvel Studios release was the main theme involving depression and the...

You know that feeling when you’re falling in love? Maybe you do, and maybe you don’t. I think it depends on the person. But I can bet you’ve felt it before, whether you recognize it or not.  It’s...

During her first week at FHC, after transferring from Forest Hills Northern (FHN), senior Monia Abbas was terrified to step foot in the lunchroom. Like most new students in an unfamiliar school experience,...

I like to imagine my life like an oil painting. Rich, contrasting tones, but somehow seamlessly blended together. Textures of different watercolors, acrylics, and enamels leaping off the canvas, giggling...

The first review I saw for Ryan Coogler’s Sinners said, “The kind of movie that reminds you why you fell in love with movies in the first place.” And just like that, I knew I had to watch it.  On...

On March 13, exactly a month before the premiere episode of Season 2 of The Last of Us was released, British Vogue posted a video on the social media platform TikTok. It was a slideshow displaying a photoshoot...

The opening shot of I’m Still Here shows Eunice Paiva (Fernanda Torres) suspended in the water of the South Atlantic Ocean, eyes toward the sky. The colors of the scene are vibrant and nostalgic, with...

The weathered, gray rocks shine with a certain type of limerence I never really noticed before.  Perhaps because it’ll be my last time seeing them.  The courtyard seems grand from up here. I’ve...

For the past month and a half, whenever junior Clare Knoester’s friends visited her house, Clare always made sure to fix them a cup of her newest obsession: a matcha latte.  More specifically, a...

I, with an insatiable bubble tea obsession, have been to every bubble tea shop in the greater Grand Rapids area. Not only that, but every time I visit a new city, my first Google search is for the best...

Recently, I’ve been obsessed with earl grey matcha lattes. Consisting of homemade earl grey syrup, skim milk, crunchy ice, and a ceremonial matcha mix, the taste reminds me of the remainders of a...

On a sunny day at the Shaggy Pines Dog Park in Ada, senior Mia Stibitz was enjoying the sunshine with one of her pets, an Australian Shepherd, Shiloh.  Shiloh, being her usual energetic self, splashed...

My film taste has evolved from the cult simplicity as I've grown. Instead of the Marvel Cinematic Universe or Star Wars, my taste has shifted to the often blindsided indie films that offer a deeper insight...

It’s a shocking plunge; chills erupt throughout my body, enveloping me in an encompassing cloud of bubbles. Although I am not gifted with the ability to open my eyes underwater without goggles, I...

Paddington Bear, beloved among both United Kingdom audiences and fans worldwide, has finally returned to his home country of Peru in the latest installment of the Paddington film series Paddington in Peru. It...

Opinions expressed in columns 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. I...

I’m six again, scribbling at the white, bleached space that fills the majority of the paper. As always, I’m doing my best to keep it within the boundaries of the unwilling black lines, but with...

The most recent time in which I claimed to be "freezing."

Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy. Not only do they provide crucial financial services to each city they populate, but they also add character to a community and honor the traditions...

As an INFJ-T personality type, my ambition tends to soar beyond the realm of possibility, leaving me stranded in the afterthought of an impossible idea. In a simpler turn of phrase, I have always been...

Sometimes, I feel guilty saying that I was grateful for the COVID-19 pandemic occurring.  With the world population on lockdown and others suffering from the very disease that caused people to stay...

From the first time I heard Moana (Auliʻi Cravalho) belt “How Far I’ll Go” in Disney’s Moana, I have proudly declared that Moana was my favorite Disney Princess. However, that viewpoint...

Donning my worn Bewitched Tour hoodie and the exact pair of jeans I wore to watch Laufey in concert on Oct. 2023 in a 600-person capacity venue, I drove to see my first-ever film in an IMAX theater. IMAX...

The following story contains spoilers for the musical film Wicked. The Wicked effect is undeniable. For months on end, everywhere I looked, I’d see a brand partnership or new product advertising...

As the warm, salty air picks up a familiar chill, I observe the frost on the trees and the glistening dewdrops on spiderwebs with a bittersweet sadness. Summer shifts into a subtle fall, not unlike...

To Lily, for your near-daily Pusheen the Cat texts There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t miss your witty remarks and endless laughs. Each day when I return home from school, I fully expect...

In the 20 minutes that I interviewed junior Chloe Cox, it was apparent that there was a certain liveliness and spirit to her character that flourished when she spoke. Particularly, she alighted on the...

In the last row of the Masonic Temple theater in Detroit on Aug. 6, I was listening to Lizzy McAlpine sing while dying from a mild case of heat stroke. However, when she mentioned that she would play...

In between the lush blades of grass in my backyard, a firefly appears. I lunge forward and attempt to catch it, but as soon as my hand gets close, the firefly's light winks out. Suddenly, I am once...

There's this scene in Ratatouille that I think about often. It's when Anton Ego, the infamous food critic residing in Paris, visits his least favorite restaurant—Gusteau's.  In favor of giving Gusteau's...

Among all the courses offered at FHC, one of the most challenging but rewarding classes is AP Seminar. AP Seminar is a year-long course that places its main focus on students improving their research,...

Although I only vaguely remember most of the books I read in elementary school, I do know that The Wild Robot was one of the standouts.  Written by Caldecott Honor winner Peter Brown, The Wild Robot...

No, this column is not about The Sound of Music.  However, it easily could be. I am not joking when I say that I could talk for an hour about the wondrous 1965 musical. Every element of the film is...

A year ago, I became obsessed with Goodreads.  Books have been a major part of my life since I began reading at the age of two. Since then, I’ve read hundreds of books, picking up fantasy, historical...

The first time I walked out of the ice cream and chocolatier shop with iconic maroon awnings, I clapped my hand over my mouth in a frail attempt to restrain my excitement.  I had just landed my first...

Once, when answering a phone call at her workplace, Cascade Roadhouse, junior Rebekah Roub picked up the phone and said to the receiver, “Forest Hills Central, how can I help you?” “I don’t...

“The juice is loose.” On March 21, these four iconic words confirmed the return of one of cinema’s most beloved characters: the one and only Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice (1988) is easily one of...

Last year, Forest Hills Public Schools officially established a new administrative position: the Director of School Safety and Security.  Former military member and teacher Ryan Kimball has taken on...

On the day of the 2024 Paris Olympics women’s gymnastics floor exercise final, I was deathly sick.  Even so, I still forced myself to wake up at an early time when I was not at school: 8:20 a.m.  I...

Open-mouth sobbing while watching new movies in theaters seems to have become a common experience for me. This was the case on July 21, 2023, the opening night of the Barbie movie. My family and I had...

Every day after school, junior Lilah Yoder warms up on the track, ready to start one of her many cross-country practices. After a week of these practices, running in the blazing August sun, Lilah will...

In August, it all comes rushing back. The syrupy sweet taste of honey coating my hands, and the way I can never seem to wash it off. The honey drips in slow, agonizing droplets, symbolizing the slowing...

Various times throughout the process of interviewing basketball coach and English and Writing for Publication teacher, the one-and-only Ken George, he was passed by a colleague or a student, and each time,...

On August 19, 2023, I told my dad that I urgently required a trip to the beach at sunset that day. It was the last Saturday before school started again, where it would recite its endless cycle for another...

In this day and age, I am constantly reminded of the harrowing treatment women have been subjected to for centuries. From America Ferrera’s speech in the blockbuster film Barbie highlighting the...

My knee bounced up and down anxiously as I watched the 2024 Grammy Awards Ceremony live stream, an event held before the mainstream awards to present additional honors that couldn't be fitted into the...

I used to wonder why women constantly feel the need to contort themselves. I grew up with women around me who idolized the ideas of cosmetic surgeries and achieving the perfect body, and while I never...

When I arrived in Ada directly after school on April 23, I nearly leaped out of my car to run to Plumfield Books, where a special new release awaited me. Romance author Emily Henry began to receive...

For as long as she can remember, senior Lily Bouma has always been besotted with sharing her voice.  Whether singing, writing, or signing in American Sign Language, Lily has learned to express herself...

“In-Yun.” A Korean proverb that is generally translated to the word providence. But more specifically, it refers to past lives. A longing glance. A brush of clothes while walking past each...