 鲜花( 1)  鸡蛋( 0)
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One day, when I was a freshman in high school,
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' x: w. W8 ^: `5 N; E5 M; EI saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.1 t2 q F! V' d6 V: W' v9 H7 @3 q$ y
1 c" y( \* Q2 R, \" W: @) r5 aHis name was Kyle.
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& i3 e/ W' E0 h$ p6 O- o, VIt looked like he was carrying all of his: Q# d$ K( `5 p# s) @5 \) i
Books.
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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."+ Q" _$ Y" u* R, [" f2 [3 g8 Z. P1 D
9 O: E. Q0 p hI had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.9 a# x% h: m- j1 X
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As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.2 ]: q/ V: U" \. B; {8 D- G. l
! a8 ^. D% f/ X4 uThey ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.1 H3 B2 ]$ v6 _% x3 ~3 J8 N
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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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# v8 @+ p7 Z# i5 HHe looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes9 _ m7 ?5 z. a- o, m, e( o
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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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$ A3 {# s8 H; o! `" J! VAs I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.2 O' s" U; i9 k2 a! j) @
: x- {* a: i8 A. MThey really should get lives.
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" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"
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3 A* U+ r+ u) B+ b# Y% d+ B% zThere was a big smile on his face.
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4 U" |0 v* E" Y, J* o' e1 n* HIt was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.
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2 {& i2 l, a8 c. _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., I3 _% s2 |: E7 o- G; A
( T' w9 Y& f2 [: W! q7 @$ e- `He said he had gone to private school before now." ^! L( s5 G+ a0 g" X
( q: y. `0 L4 _4 C) c8 p+ N: pI 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.% N- L! t+ j/ e9 H' Q
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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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. R) G7 Y4 l, m, I; u) |( h- tHe 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.. Y' q8 |4 J8 [' k- o4 r
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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!
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" He just laughed and handed me half the books.# w8 Y* E9 q3 Q+ F# [
) A/ G2 m b+ N- E' P8 s# WOver the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.! @# D* o) n. ~ z+ J/ M l2 ^" m
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When we were seniors, we began to think
; p& H+ H( [( yAbout college./ X0 H( v: R# r+ L6 y5 m, [& V
1 X* d- y; t! s7 N) ]3 zKyle decided on Georgetown, and I
+ E/ ^! z( Y4 l/ O5 WWas going to Duke.- G9 |1 _' ~. c- Q# W% A/ Q% A
5 X# N/ ?( U1 V! m" JI knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem., q! v8 ]. J: v
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He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.2 J- k3 S F3 U& }
/ c# L0 j* K0 U, n9 DKyle was valedictorian of our class.
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I teased him all the time about being a nerd.
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He had to prepare a speech for graduation.2 K W( }8 \/ b. N- ~
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I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak
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" w9 ^' q/ L4 |9 X- U( h1 q; ^Graduation day, I saw Kyle.% M- C8 y7 t3 I( _# C, s
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He looked great.+ S: A0 `+ S& V% y6 _
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He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.
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7 [$ I& [& k! C. AHe filled out and actually looked good in glasses.& M: t$ v0 U' R. I e$ D
" G' |/ k& A! IHe had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.7 r! _- ?. b7 J2 T* o$ |+ i0 [
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Boy, sometimes I was jealous.6 p) w* `( B) c" B( a2 }
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Today was one of those days.
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: ~% z2 t! v" [. i7 x, kI could see that he was nervous about his speech.. y1 O% B4 {. g1 w+ d
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So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!" r$ O. O2 F- r: w# U O; T
2 v7 f9 M$ o7 C+ Z( o: b; h# KHe looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled., C( \) L8 |, p, ]- y4 T
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"Thanks," he said.
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As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began& |- e% @2 {7 b
3 Z- X+ B" z% L$ g. R9 H6 A"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.
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1 h# u L3 H/ J8 t& E' _. a5 UYour parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...0 F" u; q: m* G' {7 S$ J) r/ d* Q/ c
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I am here to tell all of you that being a
: H" P3 I, J* `2 h, fFriend to someone is the best gift you can give them.% C/ | [5 V7 @, S% {
0 y- t+ b6 E7 dI am going to tell you a story."" z: k9 v! y' }% o* [4 S v; L0 B
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I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.$ M8 _6 }" Z+ X
4 f- K" R, d8 S7 vHe had planned to kill himself over the weekend.
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/ u1 p/ A, l) B( L# ^9 @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.4 @* I5 L" a( t6 w
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He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
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9 E' O! r" q* n% O; ?0 z"Thankfully, I was saved. I4 G% y+ ^. Z/ E# L2 k3 W
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My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."4 }, J7 I5 Q% ?# I
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I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.9 M0 l/ }" R/ Q- p
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I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.. F" o+ K. \* r. l) U: A7 D1 e1 M
2 G7 p1 W8 [5 m) M$ u$ h8 _: J! vNot until that moment did I realize it's depth.
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Never underestimate the power of your actions.
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With one small gesture you can change a person's life.6 B1 e9 R! a0 F/ r8 ]# d
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For 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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$ p: @3 `$ n; YLook for God in others.
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You now have two choices, you can:
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1) Pass this on to your friends or
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% F! q' O6 s( k+ l% y5 z" r$ h) e2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.( }# K4 Q8 r+ P* ]6 n
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As you can see, I took choice number 1.
, V8 h) r& d+ v( u' ?1 R4 q& y"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."
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There is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.
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Tomorrow is mystery.
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A0 s+ g9 P" a v9 `+ Y9 n7 w7 BToday is a gift.
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It's National Friendship Week. Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND.( V0 V2 a$ R a7 w& \+ D1 K4 C* B
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If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends. |
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