Millie Alt is a junior excited to be starting her first year on The Central Trend. She loves, loves, loves to write and is so excited to have an opportunity to share that joy. She also plays clarinet in the Ranger Marching Band, runs on the cross country team, and plays lacrosse. In the limited free time that she does have, she is most likely to be found reading (hopefully working through the huge number of books she owns but hasn’t read). She may also be sitting with her best friend in her car or her basement or walking through D&W at 10:00 pm. Although Millie is excited to be a junior, the idea of being a senior next year scares her, and she is currently refusing to think about what comes next.
Favorite sitcom TV show: The Office or Brooklyn 99 (it’s too hard to decide!)
Favorite non-sitcom TV show: The West Wing
Greatest mystery of her life: why some of her plants thrive and others just keep dying
One of my current favorite people to watch on TikTok is a woman named Eli Rallo. Among other things, Eli posts lists of rules for different types of days, seasons, and other events. Some of the most entertaining...
From the time a child is born, nearly everything it has, everything it knows, comes from its parents. As the child grows older, more outside influences can change the course of their life, but in the end,...
Happiness is subjective.
My happy may feel like misery to a bystander. My life in shambles looks like organized chaos—my favorite kind. My happy comes with caveats.
I feel truly happy only a fraction...
With four of the top 10 lifetime-grossing movies and six of the top 15, the Marvel franchise has been a significant name in the world of cinema for several decades. From Iron Man 1 to Avengers: Endgame,...
In high school, there are very few things that the students can decide on all by themselves. From homework to hot lunch, everything is decided by adults, some of whom have never even met the children whose...
Mercury is in retrograde again.
Truly, I think to myself, I have no idea what this means.
But my life has begun to seep slowly down the drain: leisurely, so I can make out each time a grain slips...
Who ever said you have to be good at something to lead it?
Certainly not Senior Annie Douma, who started an entire club with her friends but quickly discovered that she had no talent in the field...
There are infinite differences that can be found between any two people, my sister and I included, but the most evident difference—especially to a bystander—is regarding organization.
My sister...
America’s favorite snack food—or at least mine—is french fries.
There are many, many variations of this classic dish, but I am very opinionated about which ones I like and don’t. So, for all...
Culture shock is something that I expected.
I expected to feel uncomfortable in such a new situation, a new setting. And that, I did. But what I didn’t expect—and definitely should have—was the...
Grade: 10
Role: Mayor of Munchkin City & Nikko the flying monkey
What’s your relationship with your role?
“I was definitely apprehensive about being cast as a munchkin at first, but...
Grade: 11
Role: Dorothy Gale
What’s your relationship with your role?
"I love my role so so much; getting to act as Dorothy Gale has been such an exciting and fun experience for me."
What...
Grade: 10
Role: Tin Man
What’s your relationship with your role?
"My relationship with my role is both very positive and somewhat intimidating. I'm very happy to be playing the Tin Man; it's...
I used to hate taking showers.
I hated the amount of time they took, and I wished there was a magic way to make myself clean instantly without the hassle of washing my hair, conditioning, soaping, drying,...
Picture the theater: gripping scenes portrayed by talented actors, famous lines repeated over and over. But just as important is what happens behind that brightly lit stage, or, in this case, in front...
Although my sight memory may fade with time, carrying away my best days on the river of time, my scent memory lingers.
Smells trigger my memories as powerfully as music, and several were so prolific...
A small, old house sits on the beach of Lake Michigan, straddling the seam between Grand Haven and Ferrysburg.
That house is my greatest desire. As soon as I have the means, no matter where I am, no...
Environmental, art, investment, and crochet: four words and four titles of some of the many clubs at FHC. Each of these clubs has a name that is self-explanatory, and for that reason, they are often easy...
Sports romances: forever my guilty pleasure genre.
Hockey boys: only tolerable when written by women.
Icebreaker, by Hannah Grace: the best combination of both.
From the classic Off-Campus series...
There are few things in life that everyone can benefit from, but one certainly is a garden.
Everyone should have a garden or at least have access to one. These can come in many shapes, sizes, and variations,...
Many hobbies begin as simple time fillers. Singing in the car becomes a passion for choir. Reading in the doctor’s office turns into a hunger for literature. This is precisely how junior Jayden Doyel’s...
“My name’s Lockwood. And you need a ladder.”
As out of context as this quote might seem, the compelling British accent and arrogant smirk that accompanied it immediately drew me into the video...
Twelve inches of vinyl adorn my bookshelf. In various colors, each circle is distinct, although it may not appear so at first.
My vinyl collection is made up of seven of my favorite albums of all time:...
At FHC, volleyball is a sport available to girls during the fall season. Except when it isn’t.
However, this week, on Monday, Feb. 6, volleyball will be played by boys during winter: more specifically,...
A week ago, on just another Wednesday, it started to snow. The sky was a winter grey as it had been for months. It was a dismal day. Tired and stressed, I was sitting in my bed, a cocoon of quilts and...
The library is a beautiful place. I used to go to the library to read blurbs and first pages and scrutinize covers until something jumped out at me. Librarians were my book recommenders.
Now, though,...
A catapult is a machine used to launch a projectile over a great distance. It is also a commonly-made contraption in many science classes. As it is meant to throw an object through the air, one might think...
Existential, riveting, and at times, downright confounding: The Atlas Paradox was, once again, a sequel that did not disappoint.
I have made a habit of buying, reading, and promptly reviewing sequels...
Who am I?
Who am I but a collection of pieces? Pieces of my people, pieces of my books, pieces of my places, my endeavors, my love.
Pieces on pieces on pieces on pieces on pieces. Shoved together...
Movies are fiction—until they aren’t.
Everyone wants to experience a movie moment in their lifetime, but few actually have. Junior Josie Butler is one of the few. Her experience of winning the 2022...
A company worth billions of dollars, a (not so) loyal group of friends, a stellar reputation, and an easy life, taken away by a single object. Not a gun, not a will, not a blood-ruby necklace.
A napkin.
This...
Readers have high standards. If you’re a reader yourself, you understand this. If you have a reader in your life and haven’t experienced this quality yet, just wait. So, as Christmas creeps even closer,...
The day was Oct. 31—Halloween. The year was 2020.
COVID-19 stopped everything in its tracks, but I formed a new tradition: watching exorbitant amounts of television and eating exorbitant amounts of...
Senior Ella Hunnewell does not take pride in causing others discomfort—at least, in most areas of her life.
In a singularly out-of-character reaction, Ella’s favorite thing about her phone is the...
The world is different. Through white lenses, my mind grows calm in the cold. Streets I have walked every day, every life, are somehow fundamentally changed.
A week ago, I asked for help and you replied...
Carolyn and Andrew Alt—Mama and Papa, the calm to my chaos
Every day I come home stressed, and every day you are there to calm my chaos into something more manageable: mayhem, some may say. I love...
“These violent delights have violent ends, and in their triumph die like fire and powder, which as they kiss consume.”
This recognizable quote—from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet—encompasses...
Decrescendo, pianissimo, mezzo, arpeggio, sforzando. Sophomore Grace Chen hears these words in her daily life, and it’s not because she works in an Italian restaurant.
Grace plays the piano and has...
From Romeo and Juliet to As You Like It. From the 1920s to the 1930s. From mobsters to spies. From violence to intrigue. From death to death. From tragedy to tragedy.
From These Violent Delights to...
I have stopped growing.
In the physical sense. While my mind may mature, my corporeal state is now forever stagnant. Humans are not trees, after all. With only four limbs and limited space, humans are...
The video game JustDance is an incredibly entertaining way to pass time, not only because it is fun to participate in, but also because it is simply hilarious to watch. Even a professional dancer playing...
With this year’s birthday money, I decided to buy the thing that brings me the most joy in life: books. I didn’t simply go to Barnes & Noble and purchase books off the shelves though; instead,...
I have never been kissed. I am the last of my friends to date. I have never been in a romantic relationship, but I am no stranger to love. Love is everywhere all the time. It surrounds and grounds me....
