The following story contains descriptions of the life of a sex worker I like to think of myself as a pretty sensible person. Socially, I’m endlessly aware of how everyone around me is feeling,...

In science teacher Patricia Richardson’s Advanced Placement (AP) Biology class, she reiterates to her students that their experiments aren’t going to cure cancer; however, when beginning their last...

Opinions expressed in reviews 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. They...

If senior Henry Hovinga has learned anything from his frequent backpacking trips, it’s to always be prepared—however, no matter how ahead of the game he seems, any event can wreak havoc on his circumstances. Last...

Unfortunately, I do not consider myself to be a very funny person. The predominantly logical part of my brain takes things too literally; I happen to laugh more than I attempt to make others laugh.  So,...

I’ve always felt I lead a very dull and monotonous life. The comfort I find in repetition and routine surpasses any need I’ve ever had to present myself as someone with a fascinating lifestyle, so...

I’m not creative enough to be the artist, and I lack the elegance it takes to be the muse.  Somehow, the inventive talent that runs through my ancestors has bypassed my frond of the family tree....

As much as I wish I could possess the sophisticated and refined qualities of Andie Anderson in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, I will forever be a Bridget Jones girl. It’s an inescapable fact that I...

Last year, senior Benny Laidlaw had no knowledge of gardening. So, when class selection time rolled around, the idea to schedule an independent study hour in the greenhouse for his last year of high school...

Senior Audrey Thurston is busy in every aspect of her life, all year round. In the fall, along with the homework that comes with the start of the school year, she spends the majority of her free time...

English is not the language I’m most fluent in. There are others I find easier to speak. Many others, actually. I often find it difficult to express myself through the words that I should be able...

After spending years proving his responsibility, senior Rayyan Dar finally got his first phone in ninth grade. While on a family vacation to Türkiye, a short eight weeks later, he lost it. In an attempt...

It was only recently, on my 17th revolution around the sun, that I finally left the state of Michigan on an excursion I’ll actually remember.  Apparently, I’ve been to Canada, but the only way...

I desperately wish that I wasn’t an inherently nosey person.  Maybe it comes from my close relationship with my mother and my grandma—who’ve always been notorious gossipers. I grew up on the...

There’s something about older Hollywood that’s always captivated me. Maybe it’s learning about all the little inside tricks of the trade my brother—who studied to enter the industry—used to...

I will admit shamelessly that I seem to live my life through the lens of a camera. No, I don’t mean that every event or significant moment is frozen in time and secured safely in the folder of photos...

Unlike many people I talk to, the things I’m passionate about aren’t necessarily used as a means of escapism for me.  I don’t listen to music around the clock because it helps me forget about...

warning: discusses events regarding the murder of a child “A Tragic Little Beauty.”  That’s the nickname countless newspapers nationwide gave six-year-old JonBenét Ramsey after the murder...

I’ve never had that urge to pack up my things and move somewhere far away from home to start anew—like many people my age have told me about. Every year I seem to fall in love more and more with...

The Family:  Mom You said recently that home is my safe place, and I’ve never really thought about that before, but it's absolutely true. Even through the days when school gets increasingly more...

Ever since 1895, when film was first introduced as a medium of entertainment, each and every production behind these works has confronted the challenge of the many different genres and themes that have...

Anyone who knows senior Myla Morey would not describe her as having two left feet. Having been refining her dance skills since the age of two, she’s become exceptionally coordinated, not just with...

I never knew it would be something as insignificant as your chair that would make me cry. The feeling snuck up on me. As I walked up to your front door after the sale had ended, and strangers raided...

For his Honors English 10 students, English teacher Jordan George decided to return to his alma mater, Hope College, but, this time, as a teacher.  George turned this year’s visit to Hope and Davenport...

Over the years of being an avid filmgoer, I've taught myself to find the beauty in every different type of movie; the sense of humor in spoofs is irreplaceable and I still enjoy action-packed blockbusters—even...

I’m always looking for unique ways to express myself. Typically, my thoughts and sentiments translate fairly well on paper, but in the times my fingers can’t articulate what I really want to emphasize,...

On Sept. 13, I felt an aspect of my childhood fall apart. I’ve begun to notice the subtle differences in my life for years now. It’s not the reality of seeing my neighborhood, once so alive with...

On a much-anticipated trip to her cabin, junior Aubrey Sieler’s Fourth of July went awry when she took on the responsibility of saving the life of a fish. It’s tradition in her family to spend the...

Along with being labeled as a friend, a family member, and a student, junior Emmy Norton also takes on the title of “coach” and “barista” at her two jobs. To be more specific, the papers at the...

My passions come in waves. Each month brings forward a new hyperfixation for my subconscious to mull over, and the extensive research that ensues usually leaves my family well-informed on the topic,...

I was born a Troll—below the Mackinac bridge is where my home sits—but my mindset and blood type scream Yooper.  The Upper Peninsula is the destination for annual camping trips, highly anticipated...

In some ways, my love language is sharing my hobbies with others.  I have playlists upon playlists of songs I think my friends will enjoy; the texts between my dad and I are full of Spotify links we...

My life has always revolved around cinema. My older brother was constantly in and out of the house with his camera, awaiting the day he was accepted into college to finally grasp his film-making dream....

We still watch your videos, you know. The hammering ache is permitted, just for one night, until the tape recording engraved with your name is sent under the couch, barely out of reach, where it will...

In Sept. 2023, just as FHC alumni Jia Neimeyer began her last year of high school, the much-anticipated senior retreat became one of her favorite memories she formed as a senior. Although the day was packed...

Netflix-original movies hold a distinct charm that is frequently overlooked. Being able to work within the lines of a minimal budget and a cast that, oftentimes, is relatively unknown leaves the staff...

As my hands push the solid steel of the wrought iron gates, I take my first step into the cold, uninviting mist, and I’m plunged into the bottomless waters of grief. Nothing is out of the ordinary....

I’ve always had a fascination with the power of words. From the first time a poem, song, or book moved me to tears, I knew I had discovered a life-changing opportunity that has the ability to make...

Throughout her high school career, junior Alex Fletcher has had one goal she’s sought to accomplish: be as involved as possible. Finding her calling in the more artistic programs and paths, her participation...

I think we’re all born poets. We’re all born with the ability to choose curiosity, with the ink of our life’s novel woven into our veins, waiting to be bled into words.  But creativity is...

Deep down, I’ll have to admit, I have a secret love for romance movies.  Something is charming about watching the story of two people sharing a connection and working towards a happy, peaceful—or...

There is very little of myself that is completely original. My hands. They remain cracked and calloused—especially throughout the warmer months—in the same way my father’s are. Tough skin weathered...

The pathway to college for senior Lucy Yoder all started with a book. Ever since her father read about an incredibly positive experience at High Point University, the school in North Carolina has been...

One of the most bizarre movies I’ve ever seen was the horror flick Hereditary. I viewed it upon my aunt’s request to find out if it truly would be “the scariest movie I’d ever watch.” My...

Unlike many intelligent people my age, I don’t know two languages. I’m not bilingual. One Spanish class during freshman year was enough for a lifetime.  I’m not even sure I’m completely...

From the baby age of two years old, senior Jia Niemeyer—instead of being in the care of a loving, devoted family—spent the most important developmental years of her life in a Chinese orphanage. Beginning...

With the recent products the film industry has released, I’ve found that it’s become harder than ever for me to really enjoy sitting through a movie. One of my last theater experiences was Uncharted,...

In my mind, from what I can vividly remember, I’ve never left the state of Michigan.  My parents remind me time and time again that I have, in fact, been to Chicago and boarded a plane to Florida—they...

From my experience, smaller, independent movies can be one of two things: either some of the best, most thought-provoking television out there or so dreadful that I have a hard time reaching the end. I’m...

I’ve always felt like everything was just the slightest bit brighter in my neighborhood: the sun stayed suspended above and never seemed to set until I had exhausted my time outside; the grass maintained...

Since the beginning of the year, Adam Sandler Day has been a highly anticipated Spirit Week option, especially for senior class president, Ayla Ahmetovic. Finally, during Go Orange week, Adam Sandler...

Being a movie addict, one of my long-time companions has been IMDb—an online database packed with information from every movie that’s ever seen the big screen. After every viewing of a film, I go...

I was born a sensitive person in an increasingly insensitive world.  I was born imprisoned in a zoo enclosure with a brain wired to be running through the lush landscape beside the never-ending expanse...

Junior Estella Yaw established her fondness for different cuisines at a very young age by taking on the challenge of learning to bake. Although her passion for golf has continued into her high school...

My whole life, I’ve tended to gravitate toward the cinematic adaptation of a true story. Nothing makes the viewing of a film better than the hair-raising realization that real people were once put...

I never considered myself an avid reader—well, not until recently. The boundless realm of writing didn’t appeal to me before I began to transcribe thoughts of my own. Now, with the knowledge of...

Over the summer, junior Jacob Scott’s trip to Portugal left him with a memory embedded on his body that will never be forgotten: his first tattoo. After an encounter with a tattoo artist on the street,...

In 1975, Diana Nyad received widespread recognition for her record time of swimming the twenty-eight miles around Manhattan Island. It was only three years later that she announced her last competitive...

For my sixth birthday, I was gifted all ten seasons of Little House on the Prairie on DVD. For a little girl born in 2007, I was more than ready to surrender the brief life I’d constructed to live...

Earlier this year, senior Meghan Bonney competed in a horse show—an activity that ordinarily gets her heart pumping with excitement and adrenaline—but this time, her heart was filled with something...

Some say it was a tragedy. Others call it a miracle. What really happened? What happens when the world abandons you?  In Oct. 1972, a flight of Uruguayan rugby players headed to Chile for a match....

My dad is going into his twenty-seventh year of teaching. Seven hours a day. Seven different class periods. Seven groups of students that, day after day, choose whether or not they want to learn—to...

2024: a new year is now underway. COVID began four years ago, creating an atrocious start for freshmen only just commencing their high school career.  New high school students already work hard enough...

I’m a junior in high school, and I’m still trying to figure out who I am.  Not the person people see at parties; not the person who walks the school halls. Me. Choosing future colleges, careers,...

I have a love-hate relationship with scary movies. Being very verbal during a viewing of a horror or thriller is what I’ve become known for in my family.  I don’t necessarily think I would be...

Math teacher Rebecca Lipke has observed that the key to success when exam time comes is simple: organization. Being almost halfway through her twenty-seventh teaching year—facing almost every scenario...

I lied and said I was busy.  I was busy, but not in a way a lot of people truly understand. I was busy slaughtering my free time with my roommate.  My roommate has a way of making sure I never...

I fail to recall certain ages or years of my life. All I recognize is the contrast between school and summer. My school days are far from over, but the ones I brood upon happen to contradict themselves...

When junior Dia Sriram began taking piano lessons in first grade, she knew she was exactly where she belonged.  It’s hard enough in high school to meet and get acquainted with new people; although...

Old me, for making me never want to go back Everyone I talk to says that high school is the best years of your life. All I can think about in return is, It just gets worse from here?? However, really...

Since the mid-1970s when his solo career took off, Peter Gabriel has arguably been one of the most influential musicians of our time. His progressive rock style has always pushed the artistic envelope...

I am not an interesting person. My life doesn’t revolve around dedicating my time to sports, pursuing significant others, draining the hours in front of the screen of a video game, or staying out...

The FHC theatre department is always looking for new ways to challenge themselves and take their aptitude for life on the stage to the next level. The fall play, The Curious Savage, has allowed them...

Having a movie list of over three hundred may give the impression that, over the years, I have acquired a taste for specific genres or styles. In reality, any movie has a chance of piquing my interest....

A shopping spree last March with the company of my brother resulted in my biggest purchase to date: a brand-new guitar. Truthfully, I thought my old one was perfectly acceptable; it had no major dings...

I am waiting for Grief. Although I’m not exactly sure what I’m waiting for, I just know I’m expecting it soon. I’ve never properly felt Grief’s company. At least, not in a technical sense....

Rowan began reading Harry Potter in second grade and hasn't stopped since.