 鲜花( 1)  鸡蛋( 0)
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One day, when I was a freshman in high school,
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4 p* a& u& I3 UI saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.# l& T2 \, O9 |$ _( X: ?) {7 ?+ U
- U4 W- e3 ^% V0 X/ BHis name was Kyle.$ }/ ~9 r. E7 e) \
2 e( |% I( z! JIt looked like he was carrying all of his& M1 x) m( ?# r" e+ O
Books.
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$ P% x6 K1 w1 RI thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?
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( z; j1 g- t$ ~3 Z W& jHe must really be a nerd."9 y" p5 ?9 K6 Z; F3 o- ]+ c3 {
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I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.- x. W7 S: y* a/ ?9 _, O ]- @
9 `) d# Q) `( _& B) x; b. aAs I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.5 Z# N' ]; i) v) H
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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.+ i- x2 E, H9 J
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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" H5 t+ \% G2 a- C
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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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) M) Z4 f! y7 h7 a( x6 J+ I) m- D% SAs I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks." N ~; P2 _, x% T# J" {8 p
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They really should get lives.
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( j$ D/ ?$ b/ D9 s9 b" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"3 V$ i, f% k3 T
! y' b/ y! O7 T2 ]1 L: yThere was a big smile on his face.
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It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.# J( U: Y3 N* \7 H8 g
s+ r0 V1 i1 DI helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.& {# i8 g1 r* u9 c
# y& A" f8 F+ W, v, qAs it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.& o, t6 }( x5 E a* y/ F6 J
- K! o& k, b& A5 XHe said he had gone to private school before now.6 k( l9 k1 Y) {; I( [
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I 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.4 b2 f( K* [6 B4 d7 V1 p5 h8 }3 J
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He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.
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I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends.
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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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Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.
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) g4 Q; h' w. z( P$ s4 ]" uI stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!
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" He just laughed and handed me half the books.
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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 think
! x2 L, P0 {) a; s9 YAbout college.
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+ P% f' g0 }4 zKyle decided on Georgetown, and I
: ~) k# z' S$ t Z8 _Was going to Duke." u' d$ {% W: r: d; X- B" I2 W
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I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.
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! @. l% v* s1 |& s7 K$ g1 zHe was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.3 l& |) Q+ I3 q3 Y0 M
7 r4 S, v$ s z) `# d- eKyle was valedictorian of our class.
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I teased him all the time about being a nerd.
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0 u4 B1 s5 R D4 b8 P5 ^He had to prepare a speech for graduation.
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8 Q3 ~7 B8 u, M* M. MI was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak
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' U; a" N. U; jGraduation day, I saw Kyle.
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- y) R+ ]& \/ c$ i! jHe looked great.3 K3 j+ Z" E: z2 ~
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He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.
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) l S( y& J8 B h: }$ pHe filled out and actually looked good in glasses.
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He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him. O8 B! z8 ]0 ?
+ J: M3 L4 W B4 @3 b7 P/ ?Boy, sometimes I was jealous.
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% B7 u# L' P9 |8 m) nToday was one of those days.* ?- }% {, s5 p2 b3 Q0 c8 M- L
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I could see that he was nervous about his speech." k8 S7 f% e2 d/ i) J: S
* A5 p% K, E6 _ WSo, 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.# [ \6 R/ B6 i
# ^! R' i" G* z& v"Thanks," he said. B4 N* P2 `; I8 x0 S& H# S
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As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began
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"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.
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/ W4 w* b# _2 n- j7 [$ Q6 g# vYour parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...
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: Q/ E9 F3 W i& H' RI am here to tell all of you that being a
3 N5 e; n: r2 G3 V+ b: V0 H# |/ [Friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.
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# ^' B2 u p3 a: q# K h1 x8 |I 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.1 O1 W4 Z+ D9 T% [) B9 W" [
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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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He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
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( [" N& I+ m2 C' C2 F. Z"Thankfully, I was saved., T% G' L+ j+ g$ i! o9 f
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My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."
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2 g. h" }3 t0 d+ iI heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.
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I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.$ X9 N0 }4 g5 C6 p. n
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Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.$ b4 M- }: |# C& }$ E! f$ l
6 }0 S3 X" j! T; N7 l2 BNever underestimate the power of your actions.
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With one small gesture you can change a person's life.
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For better or for worse.4 m' x5 r) Z7 O2 X
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God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.6 {$ }7 Q s6 e: ?8 n l( E6 c
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Look for God in others.
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You now have two choices, you can:$ r* g U) x/ w( m
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1) Pass this on to your friends or& Q4 c Z9 I+ F$ {1 j
: G' X' X2 h' ^2 Y- n# {2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.0 m' A; S' C/ D) [1 U& |5 W% v
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As you can see, I took choice number 1.2 m& r4 \8 Z y8 I/ |1 I* j, Y
"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."7 Y) W9 g, c5 X1 l- J& A# w0 ?8 a
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There is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.
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; z" }$ \. n) p Z o7 H4 R$ hTomorrow is mystery.
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Today is a gift.4 S! J- c& c4 v- k h# @
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It'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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