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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

Evelyn Alt

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor

Evelyn is a sophomore entering her second year on The Central Trend. Outside of school, she enjoys reading and hanging out with her friends. Her other interests include playing with her cat, Minerva, and going to Barnes and Noble with her sister, Millie. She is excited for another year writing on The Central Trend staff and looking forward to everything in her future.

Favorite color: red

Favorite food: anything chocolate

Favorite season: Summer

Favorite books: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab and If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

 

All content by Evelyn Alt
Its been four years since that day in March, 2020.

A letter to: 13 Mar. 2020

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor March 15, 2024

I’ve decided to blame you for the warped time machine I find myself flailing through. It’s been four years, and I guess I decided that you’re at fault for the way they have passed like water slipping...

A French edition of the novel The Stranger by Albert Camus.

A letter to: the gentle absurd

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor March 14, 2024

“I looked up at the mass of signs and stars in the night sky and laid myself open for the first time to the benign indifference of the world” (Camus 122-123). This quote is from the book I finished...

The Google doodle for leap day.

A letter to: leap day

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor February 29, 2024

This is only the fourth time I’ve met you; this is only the fourth time that I’ve gotten to sit and write your name on my paper. I’ll get to spend the day with you about 16 more times in my life,...

Simone Biles response to her husbands comments was extremely disappointing

Simone Biles’ response to her husband’s comments was extremely disappointing

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor February 27, 2024

Elite gymnast Simone Biles is inarguably one of the greatest and most well-known gymnasts of all time. It’s impossible to think about gymnastics without her name coming to mind. With 30 medals, Biles...

A shelf in my room, decorated pink for Valentines Day.

Valentine’s Day serves a celebratory purpose beyond romantic love

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor February 21, 2024

Of all the holidays celebrated across the world, Valentine’s Day is very possibly the most hated celebratory day. At the very least, it's one of the most controversial. For some people, Feb. 14 is...

My list of things I love has grown to be over eight pages in the past year.

A letter to: the things I loved in February (part two)

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor February 21, 2024

One year ago today, I wrote that I had started February to find and make a list of everything I find in my life that I love. In the 12 months since I started that list, it has grown immensely, and I...

You know me so well, I love you so much.

A letter to: gum wrapper rings and the art of being known

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor February 2, 2024

To be loved is to be known.  When you left practice early, you put my shoe in your locker so, while looking for it, I would find my phone and the jewelry that I put in there four hours prior.  You...

The Holdovers (2023) is a movie about finding joy and love despite the tragedies of life.

The Holdovers is a stunning representation of human love and loneliness

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor January 30, 2024

If there is one thing that will never fail to make me cry, contemplate my existence, and then be unable to think about anything else for at least three months, it’s books and movies set at New England...

I hope that someday I exist as the soft light of glowing water.

A letter to: my future lives

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor January 18, 2024

You’ve been on my mind a lot recently, though I haven’t the slightest idea why. Maybe it’s the books I’ve been reading or the music I’ve been listening to.  Either way, I keep finding...

Jo Koy, the questionable host of the 2024 Golden Globes.

Jo Koy was the last person who should have hosted the 2024 Golden Globes

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor January 16, 2024

No part of Hollywood is ever free of scandal, and no other part faces it quite as much as the Golden Globes. After the severe backlash caused by Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2023 Golden Globes,...

The snow, once saddening, is now spectacular.

A letter to: my woeful words

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor January 11, 2024

Dear, woeful words, I have grown rather tired of you, I’m afraid. I don’t mean to be rude; I promise it’s nothing personal. It’s just that I have this tendency to let my festering disinterest...

Some of the music I listen to while Im studying; all classical music.

Music is a study tool all students should be utilizing

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor December 12, 2023

Right up until about eighth grade, school was never something I struggled with. It wasn’t necessarily easy, but it was never really something that took a lot of effort and time for me. When the change...

Winter break is an exciting and fun time to spend with friends and family.

Students and teachers prepare for winter break with excitement

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor December 8, 2023

The holiday break is the second most highly anticipated two weeks of the entire school year, second only to the warm and sunny days of spring break. While most people may not be as likely to be caught...

Anna Krampe running in one of her cross-country meets during the season.

Anna Krampe finds joy and fun in everything that she is a part of

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor December 8, 2023

When junior Anna Krampe became a youth group leader for her church, she never expected to be spending her Thursday night eating a mysterious concoction mixed and made by the kids in her group.  “One...

The content and setting in the music video caused immediate media attention.

Sabrina Carpenter’s music video for her song “Feather” caused immediate and scandalous success

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor December 8, 2023

On March 17, 2023, Sabrina Carpenter released her song “Feather” as a bonus track on her Emails I Can’t Send album. Seven months later, on October 31, 2023, Carpenter released the music video for...

I miss the version of myself that exists in the summertime.

A letter to: December, again

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor December 6, 2023

It’s December, again. I’m fighting against the urge to write a column about the unnatural passage of time, again.  Everything is happening all over again, and I don’t know how to stop it. My...

TCTs The Countless Thanks 2023: Evelyn Alt

TCT’s The Countless Thanks 2023: Evelyn Alt

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor November 22, 2023

Ella Peirce Last year, I said that I couldn’t survive the class without you, and nothing has changed since. Since I wrote that, we’ve started copy editing, become staff writers, and started a podcast....

Im afraid that Im going to be missing you for the rest of my life.

A letter to my sister

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor November 15, 2023

Millie, I can’t sleep with my window closed, and you can’t sleep with shoes on your floor.  You give everything in your room its own place, and I let all my belongings fling themselves wherever...

I listened to my fall playlist while writing this, and then immediately started to make my Christmas one.

Fall and Christmas don’t cancel each other out, so stop acting like they do

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor November 10, 2023

Christmas and fall aren’t mutually exclusive, and I’m tired of people pretending they are. Being the extremely indecisive person I am, I’ve become increasingly annoyed whenever a new person asks...

The view from my open window on a day in fall.

A letter to: lost sleep and my open window

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor November 2, 2023

I can’t sleep with my window shut.  Even in the winter, even when I wake up with frozen hands and misty breath, I need to crack it open or I’ll be awake forever. I don’t know when it started,...

Nothing in the universe is new, weve all been here forever.

A letter to: everything old

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor November 2, 2023

Nothing’s new. It’s a pretty well-known fact; a pretty standard thing to be taught in eighth-grade science. The law of conservation of mass.  It’s scientific, it’s practical, it makes...

Everyone should attend FHC marching bands Bandtasia concert on October 25.

The FHC’s annual Bandtasia performance is not something you want to miss

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor October 30, 2023

In many shows set in high school and coming-of-age movies, senior year is portrayed as one of the most nostalgic times of the characters' lives. Senior Gia Monterusso is no exception to this theme; in...

I have always loved fall with my entire heart and soul, and it will stay this way for the rest of my life.

A letter to: fall

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor October 4, 2023

Dear fall, I always say I can’t decide which season I love most, and then September hits, and you’re here, and I don’t have to wonder anymore. I indeed love every season. I love summer—year...

The three years Andrew Oderkirk spent in England changed his perspective on his life.

Andrew Oderkirk’s time in England gave him a new perspective on the world around him

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor September 29, 2023

When senior Andrew Oderkirk was eight years old, his family moved to Manchester, England, where they planned to stay for three years.  Being as young and unknowledgeable about other countries as he...

There is an extreme lack of knowledge surrounding ADHD, especially when it comes to women who have it.

The underdiagnoses of women with ADHD needs to stop—part two

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor September 29, 2023

Understanding the biological differences between sexes is crucial to knowing the best course of action in caring for both genders. This understanding is severely lacking in the medical world and has been...

The Newest Staff members of FHC

Arpita Das, Publicity Editor September 19, 2023

A class art project that I made back in first grade.

A letter to: old me

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor September 19, 2023

Dear old me, I’m sorry. I’m sorry about all the things I didn’t do. I’m sorry about everything I didn’t accomplish. I hope you aren’t too mad at me. I hope regret is last on your list of...

At least one out of every two women with ADHD live their whole life undiagnosed.

The underdiagnosis of women with ADHD needs to stop—part one

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor September 15, 2023

When I first started telling people that I was going through the process of being evaluated for ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), I was consistently met with the same responses.  “You...

The Red, White, and Royal Blue movie poster.

The film adaptation of Red, White, and Royal Blue exceeded my every expectation

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor September 11, 2023

As a firm believer in the admittedly cliché statement “the book was better,” my expectations were not exceptionally high when I sat down to watch the film adaptation of the novel Red, White, and...

Water has so much potential, but I feels like it is so rarely recognized for it.

A letter to: water and the number one

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor September 4, 2023

To the most unremarkable things, Do you ever get tired of being the "justs" and "onlys" of the world? “Just water for me, please.” “No, I only want one, thank you.” “I spilled, but...

My most recent birthday when I still felt closer to five than 15.

A letter to: sophomore year

Evelyn Alt, Copy Editor August 28, 2023

Dear 10th Grade, I am afraid of you. I’m scared that you will be just like every other school year. I’m scared that you will last too long, and I’ll grow bored of you too quickly. I’m scared...

I am going to miss this class over the summer.

My words have finally become meaningful again

Evelyn Alt, Staff Writer June 1, 2023

Throughout the year, I have written a total of seventeen columns that were published in The Central Trend. All of them turned out to be different—and slightly worse most of the time—than I originally...

The poetry aisle of a bookstore in Chicago, filled to the bursting point with beautiful words.

My words remain unwritten

Evelyn Alt, Staff Writer June 1, 2023

I really, truly, do not know how to write anymore. Beautiful words escape me. Everything sounds too forced. I’m sure I’ve written that sentence before.  I read poem after poem, and I cry.  I...

A few of the times I didnt hate school as much as I think I do.

She still lives inside of me

Evelyn Alt, Staff Writer May 15, 2023

I used to be the girl who got up extra early on school days because I couldn’t wait to get on the bus, and although I spent over an hour getting yelled at to hurry up and get ready quicker, I wasn’t...

Grace Berlin applies herself in a multitude of activities including crew which she is shown finishing a regatta for in this picture.

Grace Berlin thrives through an abundance of passions and activities

Evelyn Alt, Staff Writer May 12, 2023

There are hundreds of unique sports played around the world, and while some are more absurd than others, one of the oddest and most unusual-sounding sports is the very one that sophomore Grace Berlin has...

Me doing gymnastics (outside of the gym) last summer.

In summer, I can breathe again

Evelyn Alt, Staff Writer May 10, 2023

My summer begins the second my meet season is over.  It could be hailing and five degrees below zero outside, but if I’m in the gym, and I don’t have another upcoming meet to think about, I’ll...

The sky on a day when the sun was finally out.

The sun is returning, and I am healing

Evelyn Alt, Staff Writer May 9, 2023

Winter Sundays might be the most detestable part of my life.  Of course, that’s an exaggeration, but every single Sunday, from the end of December to the beginning of April, any positive feelings...

Film Fest Q&As 2023: Evan Lubben

Film Fest Q&As 2023: Evan Lubben

Evelyn Alt, Staff Writer May 4, 2023

Title: The Missing Piece Grade: Senior What is the premise of your film?  "Our film is to show the school what it means to have a big piece missing from the school forever. In our movie, two...

The photo that the Rumor Has It film group is using for their program.

Film Festival Q&As 2023: Madi Evans

Evelyn Alt, Staff Writer May 1, 2023

Film: Rumor Has It Grade: Junior What is the premise of your film?  Our film Rumor Has It, is sort of a play on Gossip Girl and Mean Girls along with a reality TV show twist. Our main character...

I was happy here, but I already cant remember when or why I took this photo.

Every drip in the bowl

Evelyn Alt, Staff Writer April 25, 2023

Time is the steady drip of water filling up a bowl. It’s slow and boring and frustrating, and you can’t stand how long it’s taking. But one day, you look down into the bowl, and it’s already filled...

The extreme results of the study done on colors of objects from the year 1800 until now.

We are living in a grayer world, literally

Evelyn Alt, Staff Writer April 17, 2023

For most of my childhood, whenever I thought about “the olden days” or pretty much any time preceding 1970, the color scheme in my head was entirely black, white, and gray. Black and white movies,...

In the house I live in as Evvy and the city I aspire to live in as Evelyn.

Evelyn, Evvy, and me

Evelyn Alt, Staff Writer April 16, 2023

My name is important to me.  I grew up with legends, stories, and fairytales where names are often the most valuable thing a person can have.  I grew up in worlds where names were currency—traded...

The first place I learned about imagery healing, shortly after my knee injury.

Imagery healing: the realistic concept of mind over matter

Evelyn Alt, Staff Writer March 24, 2023

I’ve never thought of the concept of ‘mind over matter’ as a very scientific theory. My take on life has always been more physically oriented than mentally. Being a gymnast, I try to lean much further...

Vivian Wheland (left), enjoying the 50s themed party with some of her best friends and colleagues.

From workplace to workplace, Vivian Wheland finds her passion

Evelyn Alt, Staff Writer March 14, 2023

One day last summer, junior Vivian Wheland escaped the modern stresses of her daily life and traveled back through the decades to party in the 20th century.  “We had a 50s-themed party for the residents...

The pretty extreme amount of words I spelled wrong in this column before editing it.

Whatever a really good title would be

Evelyn Alt, Staff Writer March 14, 2023

I don’t want to be writing this column right now.  490 more words to go.  I don’t want to be writing this so much so that after writing just that first sentence, I had to check the word count...

The same walk to the bus stop my sister and I have taken for years.

Can I hide in your shadow?

Evelyn Alt, Staff Writer March 6, 2023

I have never, not one day in my life, thought of myself as growing up in your shadow.  Sometimes, I even think I might have wanted to be, but I never was.  Of course, you were always in front of...

A few examples of what I wish my notes looked like, if I had the skill.

The art of taking notes varies from student to student

Evelyn Alt, Staff Writer February 28, 2023

How you take notes for your classes is crucial to your success in learning and retaining vital information.  Because not everybody’s mind works precisely the same way, no single style of note-taking...

Intro to Business Q&As: Max Richardson – Cushee

Evelyn Alt, Staff Writer February 27, 2023

Members: Max Richardson (Leadership and Management); Quinlen Sutherland (Marketing); Leah Clarke (Finance); Drew Wright (Supply Chain); Vincent Elliot (Sales); Makenna Smith (Sales) Product: Portable...

The folder given to me by my own sports physiologist, who has helped me immensely with the mental aspect of my sport.

The stigma surrounding the mental health of athletes needs to end

Evelyn Alt, Staff Writer February 20, 2023

When elite gymnast Simone Biles pulled out of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, the sports world was sent into an uproar.  After competing in her first event, vault, with an obvious slip-up and an unusually...

Jada Burgin (right) is playing soccer in college, Maya Holser (middle) is playing softball in college, and Ellie Latunski (left) is rowing in college

The journey from high school to college sports is difficult yet exciting

Evelyn Alt, Staff Writer February 16, 2023

Senior Ellie Latunski’s last year on the high school rowing team began with a bang—or rather, a fairly large splash.  “My [favorite memory] from being on the rowing team is probably falling out...

My illegible, too-far zoomed-out document of all the things I loved in February

The things I loved in February

Evelyn Alt, Staff Writer February 13, 2023

Valentine's Day is about love, so naturally, I grew up pretending to hate it. I gagged at my parent’s cheesy gifts to each other and spent the day mortified by the very thought of passing out candy to...

A (slightly blurry) image of my view of the Denver airport while writing this column

A collage of humanity

Evelyn Alt, Staff Writer February 7, 2023

Sitting in the Denver airport, I’ve got a distinct feeling that the only thing I’m missing is a large cappuccino and the Love Actually theme song.  I’ve always loved airports. My family doesn’t...

Willem Knoester (left) and Senior Noah Kriekard (right) after a match.

Willem Knoester is inspired by tennis on and off the court

Evelyn Alt, Staff Writer February 1, 2023

Not all heroes wear capes, and neither does sophomore Willem Knoester’s hero. Instead, he carries a tennis racket. From upperclassmen to world-class tennis players, Willem’s adoration for his sport...

Maggie Kelderman playing basketball during an intense game

Maggie Kelderman carries her love of basketball through states

Evelyn Alt, Staff Writer January 31, 2023

Moving schools can be one of the most challenging parts of someone's life; let alone moving across states. For junior Maggie Kelderman, her transitions from the suburbs of Illinois to Grand Rapids, Michigan,...

One of the rare times I cleaned my desk during December.

My environment and my mind are one and the same: a mess

Evelyn Alt, Staff Writer January 30, 2023

I have never in my life been considered a neat, organized person. Not by myself, not by my friends, and definitely not by my parents.  My room has never been spotlessly clean for more than three weeks,...

chewing gum is one of the most common and helpful study tricks.

Create study habits that work for you

Evelyn Alt, Staff Writer January 23, 2023

It is a universally acknowledged fact that one of the most challenging parts of being a student is the extreme amount of testing. From quizzes to exams to standardized testing, even the best students struggle...

A moment I wish I could capture the beauty of through words, art, or music.

Who I wish I was

Evelyn Alt, Staff Writer January 17, 2023

I am Evelyn Alt. A gymnast, a student, a sister, and a friend.  I wish I was a writer.  I wish that words flowed through my fingertips like honey, I wish that analogies didn’t feel so forced,...

The main spreads at the beginning of my 2023 bullet journal

Fresh starts and new bullet journals

Evelyn Alt, Junior Writer January 9, 2023

Blank calendars, fresh starts, and new bullet journals are my favorite things each new year brings. Starting the new year with a clean bullet journal is a fantastic way to gain motivation for the year...

Wishful thinking

Wishful thinking

Evelyn Alt, Junior Writer January 8, 2023

11:00 When did this start happening? Who taught me to think like this? Why does my breath hitch when I glance at the clock? When did I start believing that all my problems would be solved with the ticking...

A few of the books, shows, and movies, that I have re-watched or re-read

I find solace in the familiar

Evelyn Alt, Junior Writer December 6, 2022

For the past few years, my mind has been constantly plagued by questions.  What do I want to do when I grow up? What is my dream job? Where do I want to live? What do I want to be?  Who do I want...

Sawyer McCarthy running at his cross country meet

Sawyer McCarthy finds balance and joy in his hectic schedule

Evelyn Alt, Junior Writer December 1, 2022

Like the majority of the FHC Cross-Country team, sophomore Sawyer McCarthy began running in the seventh grade. He chose cross-country simply because he wasn’t participating in any other fall sports,...

My Christmas tree is decorated similarly to this, just somewhat less organized

The memories we hang on the tree

Evelyn Alt, Junior Writer November 29, 2022

My family’s Christmas tree is a collage of chaos. For one month, hundreds of carefully preserved ornaments are on. Each one has a story behind it. Each one has a meaning and a past.  A door from...

For the past several years, cell phones have been banned in all Forest Hills schools

Is the FHC cellphone policy helping or hurting students?

Evelyn Alt, Junior Writer November 23, 2022

Because of the recent advancements in technology and humans' natural instinct to be infatuated with anything that makes life easier or more entertaining, Gen-Z is stuck with the image of caring more about...

TCTs The Countless Thanks 2022: Evelyn Alt

TCT’s The Countless Thanks 2022: Evelyn Alt

Evelyn Alt, Junior Writer November 22, 2022

Andrew Alt Thank you for teaching me to love reading, writing, and languages at least half as much as you do. Thank you for spending hours reading Harry Potter to me on the couch. I don’t know if...

The FHC orchestra practices for a concert in the orchestra room

The orchestra’s semi-annual trip to New York City forges bonds between students

Evelyn Alt, Junior Writer November 17, 2022

In eighth grade, senior Abby Cumings went on a trip to Chicago with the entire music department. Now in her senior year, she has a chance to do something similar, but this time, it will be with an even...

The classic turkey dinner that many Americans eat on Thanksgiving

The forgotten holiday

Evelyn Alt, Junior Writer November 15, 2022

Is it okay to listen to "celebrate Christmas before Thanksgiving"? This is a question that has troubled our nation for decades. How far back can we cut Christmas before the holiday consumes the autumn...

The cover for The First to Die at the End by Adam Silvera

The First to Die at the End is a beautiful and heartbreaking prequel to the Death-Cast series

Evelyn Alt, Junior Writer November 8, 2022

There I was, Friday night, sobbing on my bed.  Literally sobbing.  Nothing tragic had happened, at least nothing in real life. You would think that I had learned from the first time. But alas,...

Autumn VanSolkema perseveres through her injury to continue doing the things she loves.

Autumn VanSolkema finds both frustrations and victories while recovering from her injury

Evelyn Alt, Junior Writer November 3, 2022

It’s pretty common for someone to find something—whether it is a sport, hobby, or any other pastime—that they really connect with, and want to continue doing.  For sophomore Autumn Vansolkema,...

A pond in Central Park with the New York City skyline behind it

Mid-morning melodies of the city

Evelyn Alt, Junior Writer November 1, 2022

After waiting for three years—although it felt like three thousand—I finally got to visit the place of my dreams.  New York City. It was so much more than I ever imagined it would be. There...

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