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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.2 c- V5 C k0 v
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His name was Kyle.5 y/ V/ T7 C K) {4 v; L/ \
4 s# \6 ?5 M/ `9 v, ]; kIt looked like he was carrying all of his
% {$ p$ F) \% w' j! [2 TBooks.9 ^, ^: s! S% S* |6 I! a" m6 l( h
6 n3 f l- e `+ EI thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?: s4 k* X9 e2 c# [6 E* ~, C, r
, X5 G9 G3 [5 w' L) _2 O& N) Y, J& c$ rHe must really be a nerd."0 Y+ T3 f' W( z' C2 O+ g) P0 Y( V
T% S% i- J) w2 g/ QI had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on. ?+ g6 i* a/ s1 q, M* l* G* t
2 b; l4 e" C4 s! ]- `As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.2 j. D; X* y6 \$ {! q
: `+ x" l: S9 M: g& ZThey ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.
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His 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$ j, m" Y( u) q; Y
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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.
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. ^: Q7 q1 M" q3 m$ V" sAs I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.
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9 J3 u, d3 N+ s0 j9 C$ S( YThey really should get lives." u: V3 Q8 ~+ h! l
7 u4 Y1 D! k8 h V& W" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"5 H" A& M- U9 `9 F
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There was a big smile on his face.
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/ `4 p# t0 ^+ [. R( ~It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.* g) Y0 x! w$ o/ |; h" M
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I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.
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As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.
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( Q. u, N/ a* \+ N+ ?He said he had gone to private school before now.7 V4 S" S9 e$ r6 F; `* t J$ b( {
G. {( D7 E6 m3 `7 A" p4 D" rI would have never hung out with a private school kid before.
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We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.0 {6 l! b, I( o
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He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.$ r J. t& G# b2 ?6 J
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I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends.4 A7 X" l8 B) J* L
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He said yes.
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We 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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4 ~% L2 {, @! P4 R6 D* }Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.
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I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!- s; M2 f7 T1 D, W o2 h
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" He just laughed and handed me half the books.3 w9 f1 s$ ?3 s0 }, Z3 `9 a
: \2 l' E) x2 GOver the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.: G. x4 s0 |: i d4 c: g1 S/ S
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When we were seniors, we began to think/ ]. t% J9 @7 H8 v8 Z
About college.3 l) a8 S$ j ?7 c& q1 W
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Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I1 l4 N* A- F7 A8 T0 q
Was going to Duke.
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I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem. ^6 u' Y6 Q; a1 q
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He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship., D: R' }% d! |5 d! f
5 z' |/ T/ w+ ZKyle was valedictorian of our class.$ [* |" t' W" u2 t
+ B8 c$ R2 n- u) K2 d- KI teased him all the time about being a nerd., X9 J/ D" O9 ~" [& x$ Y9 W$ k; Z+ x
* Z6 `1 K6 |. s7 i% Q+ u; _4 cHe had to prepare a speech for graduation. U, g( ]! M" ?1 P1 k
/ X; p9 J7 o, `2 RI was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak
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Graduation day, I saw Kyle.( e9 d8 W3 D. [
0 k2 w# t! @! `6 X5 t* yHe looked great.
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) Q( w* e. w; U& y8 @1 }- IHe was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.
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He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.
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+ L5 ?# U7 e: G( x. v+ l# g8 j7 NHe had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.
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Boy, sometimes I was jealous.# M) x+ i0 w5 T5 L+ |4 H6 c9 B
3 b# {7 u7 A. a! QToday was one of those days.( \; M4 W2 D; h6 N# @
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I could see that he was nervous about his speech.
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So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"
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He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.3 J8 ~* s' N. B. P7 Z& e
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"Thanks," he said.
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# t6 W% L+ z4 a$ R0 k* z5 K0 x9 sAs he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began# G' H m4 c* `
8 p+ U4 O! ~! S% F"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.. N5 E( z1 T+ l
. j* O b. q5 J! W' pYour 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 a2 w9 s3 H& _, J2 x
Friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.$ A& z+ R6 L! M( ^2 z( \
) g* `# T/ `; M7 WI am going to tell you a story."
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I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.
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He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.8 M. N( a" Z3 E: U
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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.
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+ D% Q" y! X3 V0 h! ?6 ]4 l' Q, GHe looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
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"Thankfully, I was saved.' E9 Y4 a. [9 i" h! G& k
, B0 ~' I* A) P6 H! Y' N" B8 ]My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."4 b% N( D5 B) z6 E& S$ k, S. d _
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I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.
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: w! ^6 m6 W* i. d j+ l+ u! y& H# tI saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.! Y' P3 {# K1 ^7 r; u
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Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.. p6 y0 t6 J* [$ t9 b% K
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Never underestimate the power of your actions.
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9 v) i# r( B9 g3 n+ o9 uWith one small gesture you can change a person's life.* S- U, D7 \) k, j1 T9 M& Y2 ]
0 T7 @. A1 ^$ p+ ZFor better or for worse.
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God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.
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Look for God in others.
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You now have two choices, you can:9 D q# b$ K) o& H5 Q* l
C# q/ H6 ^# f7 \0 f1) Pass this on to your friends or
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2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart. m3 k- q0 N k1 P% m/ r6 y x
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As you can see, I took choice number 1.$ Z, Z/ Q0 ]# T# q
"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."
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7 @) j9 J. s2 H6 h& t- N0 }% XThere is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.
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Tomorrow is mystery.
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Today is a gift.
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0 P; R* F2 B6 @+ W2 c; zIt's National Friendship Week. Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND.1 ?+ W- b1 J& f5 T9 j
0 O2 G- W S( `If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends. |
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