My name is Inonge Kaloustian. My first name means “someone whom everyone loves” and my last name means “the good coming.” I was born and raised in the DMV, and have lived in gorgeous Prince George’s (PG) County, Maryland, since I was four years old. On June 13th, 2021, I graduated magna cum laude with …
You Can Carry the Weight Now. Since I was 17 you’ve shown me that I can be great. I wasn’t disciplined, but you showed me that I could be. I had potential and you showed me how to refine it. I was rough, but you loved that about me. When we first met, I didn’t …
I began knowing there would be an end. I slipped on the navy jersey many times knowing the day would come where I wouldn’t compete in the same way. Knowing I’d miss road trips, game days, locker room concerts with my teammates – a game time tradition that meant dancing and singing until our hearts …
We spent 10 years together. Some were easy, others were far more difficult. In the beginning, I
loved every minute spent with you. Toward the end, I started to imagine my inevitable days without you. There were so many aspects of me – and yet there you were – center of them all. You tested me in every way imaginable. Physically. Emotionally. Spiritually. Mentally. There were days I wanted to give up on you, to leave you behind and move on. To be known as something else. Other days, I was so present with you, I forgot about anything and everything
else. You were my everything. My family knew all about you; they always asked how you were.
Friends would text me; to congratulate us on our milestones. You gave me not one, but two,
beautiful rings. When people thought of me, they thought of you too.
“Dear Summer, I know you gon’ miss meFor we been together like Nike Airs and crisp tees” Jay-Z on “Dear Summer” It’s still hard to comprehend. This August is the first August in thirteen years I won’t be gearing up for Fall Camp. More than a decade. More than half of my life. If you …
This year is the first year that I won’t be suiting up for Fall camp and playing football, a sport I’ve played since I was ten years old. From the time I decided to move on until now I’ve thought about the different ways that I can speak about my own experience. I’ve asked myself, …