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One day, when I was a freshman in high school,
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I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.4 t3 B( L" Y" a0 p E, A
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His name was Kyle.
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It looked like he was carrying all of his' j& O4 r! m# c) [( k( T- j
Books.3 }+ @3 \, s* R. G* t
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I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?
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He must really be a nerd."
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# q6 B7 }6 \8 ?9 D' G7 x" }$ WI had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.! d+ R( I. _4 Y' a% X/ j2 _
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As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.5 F! g( _5 [0 x
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They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.
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+ ~- _; F; e; a* A; eHis glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.
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He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes
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My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye.8 m/ S. F* G0 x! K& a& C* J
+ A" a+ j0 U2 |* ?' U4 zAs I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.
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They really should get lives.
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! ?' Q! t% J" l2 i( N& S; t" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"
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There was a big smile on his face.2 w3 R7 P% s/ S) X, V
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It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.
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% W5 e- b' j0 h4 D( z s/ V; m0 ?, JI helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.
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, |% c- j, [) Y. Z: LAs it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.
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$ t2 _- m9 @5 Z: j7 n5 W7 r vHe said he had gone to private school before now.
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I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.( {2 B4 s6 T1 T' j7 g5 k& l
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We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.
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! ]2 O- M2 Q* E+ z% CHe turned out to be a pretty cool kid.
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A9 i( l8 r' @+ jI asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends.
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/ [0 ~8 u5 H; T- E3 }0 @* k0 b _He said yes.
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' j S6 S7 `# P7 [% NWe hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.
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Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again." ?/ j4 R4 x5 J% e# o
5 @& x! M* U2 G# o7 p" `) c. BI stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!
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( A. k( M9 O0 k# g$ r- {0 u) p6 f" He just laughed and handed me half the books.! b: e, V$ t. f1 l
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Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.
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When we were seniors, we began to think8 K0 T) S2 y0 L ^' Q
About college.
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Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I
9 D6 }1 l4 x y7 ]' u0 Y; t! aWas going to Duke.
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I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.
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: [1 e; G6 E- H6 sHe was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.9 F5 Y9 a4 S) N4 D$ p
2 O% S* J& q1 D' u5 QKyle was valedictorian of our class.3 t2 P. B; x" g! x, h$ {% r
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I teased him all the time about being a nerd. f3 Q0 P' f' K# q
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He had to prepare a speech for graduation.
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. @3 w5 {. i+ RI was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak
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& h2 s! x- z/ T# B! g5 PGraduation day, I saw Kyle.
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2 H" t* b! ~8 SHe looked great.
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He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.
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1 } _( w: v6 l' }He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.
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( }" w( x p Q8 C2 j8 i6 RHe had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.
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; f4 b+ q* I5 ?: BBoy, sometimes I was jealous.
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Today was one of those days.- i. ^! x9 l+ O9 u1 N
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I could see that he was nervous about his speech.
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3 j& q" l' H! T: e* Q+ D/ uSo, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"1 I& W' A J2 z$ r
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He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.
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"Thanks," he said.; m, a( }* y7 U3 s2 f" y6 x7 q
B; M$ p2 w- f k0 mAs he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began _4 W4 A' K& e' P+ @
: d- i R# a {% m6 V3 i"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.* V( B1 M( n! k$ {; [
# i4 }- O& S" K: R0 @Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...
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I am here to tell all of you that being a
) d0 ~9 B3 J# x% _Friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.
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I am going to tell you a story."
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, g3 d- }8 ^% T3 AI just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.: c2 J- z: R5 @# C8 m9 {
: C1 ~* q6 q/ S$ n/ ]He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.* E* `8 I4 b0 f6 {
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He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home.' I, |' x( s+ S" y) y
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He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
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"Thankfully, I was saved.+ K7 h. m! [0 Q3 u
* e8 J+ I F/ [9 N% ?7 ?" u4 z! PMy friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."
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0 k. W/ d2 H$ |% HI heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.) U1 a6 S- q3 {) G3 N# O! y8 t2 ~/ Q$ g
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I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile." V4 Z% ?* o, c% D
+ q+ O- k+ S( U0 k X' u6 W& x( l) PNot until that moment did I realize it's depth.
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( o( Q" ` E" t/ J7 j+ ]Never underestimate the power of your actions.
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: p6 R9 @$ ]1 c6 SWith one small gesture you can change a person's life.# R. T0 [! S3 {! \1 d
" ~) T5 |+ n W6 X* q$ hFor better or for worse.
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4 _/ D6 t. i* Q7 D mGod puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.% B- N4 m) q/ l, ?- q) L
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Look for God in others.
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You now have two choices, you can:1 V$ i8 [& F1 \
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1) Pass this on to your friends or
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5 p1 [; v* d2 g9 k& ~2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.
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As you can see, I took choice number 1.: x7 R4 g6 _1 a0 N! Q% Z
"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."1 F, O0 C* V' O8 P$ m& g
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There is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.: N7 d G6 q$ d1 H" B0 F& a
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Tomorrow is mystery.
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( J9 {! I1 W8 l7 H* `: IToday is a gift.
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" P( }- \0 ]) xIt's National Friendship Week. Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND.
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If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends. |
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