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One day, when I was a freshman in high school,9 w6 t m. R9 Y0 a: w9 ^! Q
, u* Y. g' O: w/ P, YI saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.
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/ a& b( _' G' Z4 |4 ]* K( O) O% VHis name was Kyle.
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/ \( `, N1 z$ u! p8 l! j: lIt looked like he was carrying all of his
8 ]$ u) s/ P- I* D1 [Books.! K, D4 C# B% y" o |
, r) I0 M/ e7 ~0 U6 ZI thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?/ R( s& R% N5 f# `4 c
6 Q) a% T n( a' {2 GHe must really be a nerd."+ d$ s9 Q z; h' `$ z8 l
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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.( Z4 L6 d$ v! }3 y6 m: b* P
& D" m N" V5 D+ F6 RAs I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.
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: c" y8 h! V5 i( aThey ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.- s: i2 c- u# l+ k4 v
! Y/ L9 ]" ], Y; h/ s0 xHis glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.1 N, _9 N! q- t0 c
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He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes
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' R- |/ }/ k+ p- t3 DMy 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.; ~+ q/ Z* ?4 N- Q2 e
/ Z7 _$ p5 Q- qAs I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.
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They really should get lives.; X4 `* ^& v: a& z( c
. A, k! L# X9 F- H* _% o" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"3 t- ~6 K4 y- M
) q3 b* I, n; ]5 iThere was a big smile on his face., `, w H5 m @. ~# u: h; d0 ?- Q
, R2 w0 M& P. m. E" NIt was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.+ G3 w6 R c, p5 c
$ I+ X' e8 L T" }" J8 _: g/ xI helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.
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! a* Y3 X' v/ _1 dAs it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.
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8 t! ?; f$ Z [ L3 P u0 YHe said he had gone to private school before now.( C: s. R% o" B1 d6 {
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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.
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0 x2 r* j2 F6 |: }; a' N6 `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./ J$ s2 x: Q6 u6 a& ~+ V+ \) s2 d
% c$ i! F4 u2 N# z5 ?# MHe said yes.6 m- e1 p5 H) E- [9 ~6 t8 H
# |7 ?3 o4 ^/ J7 l( V1 ~6 B' R2 [5 sWe 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.! U* g- _1 Y" B( @
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Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.* X. X% o6 r9 I* A( m/ @2 D
- |: V- U% o8 {, ]' {& p1 G* f8 RI stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!9 N- T% N& E/ g" M: o
4 j, _% o. s4 R; a5 N: f" Q" He just laughed and handed me half the books.% g9 ?& r' a7 u2 O1 N
2 s& p" W+ g+ k; P' T% POver the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.6 ?+ t6 A. \& A' ]: @
! Y! M. Q( j9 m% R/ I. M; ~& dWhen we were seniors, we began to think
2 p" F9 D: y: h7 I/ HAbout college.
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Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I. F9 v, y2 w+ b2 R+ {9 T' v8 k% r
Was going to Duke.
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3 ]( S& L1 t) L7 ~3 \I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem., d) x( f! j; _7 J0 P" Y( k5 x8 o
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He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.
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Kyle was valedictorian of our class.! P. m" h1 @; m1 J8 v& h* X; D/ F
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I teased him all the time about being a nerd.
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- v4 ~2 ?/ M8 k; D- uHe had to prepare a speech for graduation.9 J: k' o& `; v! B0 k" V
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I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak2 t* } K" C4 _* L4 h
3 u* P2 g6 [% FGraduation day, I saw Kyle.
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- @5 f, x/ x `He looked great.
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8 m$ D$ E! G: n" a/ Y0 _: H+ mHe was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.' m z) S8 K5 ~& {9 O
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He 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.2 n( s" ]* p8 F7 }
# _4 `, m) G& k5 A2 W) ]/ JBoy, sometimes I was jealous.: c- d1 P4 U- }) u
1 V% M/ w9 e4 ^- p9 V! NToday was one of those days.
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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!"( r+ M0 U9 M. b& W( n+ z, Q$ C
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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.
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) X5 z# I: g8 F: m; `6 G1 @8 [1 CAs 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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Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...
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& k1 e H2 v" z JI am here to tell all of you that being a3 X- k( T5 R! z4 E( B0 [+ ^
Friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.: Z! ~9 d s7 B, J; j4 ?
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I am going to tell you a story."( n" c. D, \1 ~! n: N
& d, u( N5 A% R) @/ P: FI just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.
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`- G4 p3 n+ r; I: d! Q3 v. KHe had planned to kill himself over the weekend.8 E9 o6 s# e/ h7 S
6 _% {$ N* L, m* r( S iHe 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.- m1 y. g. U( V: |
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He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
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: @" L& n8 b+ T* i"Thankfully, I was saved.! c% m5 M* K* |6 o
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My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."
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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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I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.
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Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.( B" H6 A6 x" a; X/ I
i' Q4 b4 O: N( DNever 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.) `5 M& n; `: F X
& I% @/ G) T4 p# {+ I2 tGod puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.
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$ I% Y. @6 E% ~* t, h) FLook for God in others.; x9 a' ]& b4 x; S
- M4 ~9 Q' \3 X' `$ VYou now have two choices, you can:
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, _' j0 N- L. }2 J% c5 w1) Pass this on to your friends or
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4 i g0 X' G" l( Z# O8 f2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.
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As you can see, I took choice number 1.
( g6 r8 @2 L3 D+ c* r"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."
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3 u }- I+ |3 n! t* ]) MThere is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.9 [/ d9 B a% l$ Z9 e. n# Z$ X( m
8 k) X% o; G# Z: x+ r2 TTomorrow is mystery.
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8 N \8 A2 `( Q5 {$ H; eToday is a gift.( t/ U6 m7 Y) o' Z, O9 P
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It's National Friendship Week. Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND.9 D( ^1 O) z9 H: }" w0 c
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If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends. |
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