 鲜花( 1)  鸡蛋( 0)
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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.
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His name was Kyle.6 t& L% k( ]6 d7 t
0 @% U4 ?4 @6 E7 D/ uIt looked like he was carrying all of his1 e6 A+ z* t5 z5 u! P
Books.1 w. t) Q/ s6 M$ q) |- ^9 {; O
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I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?2 U, W9 v/ O' w5 C
6 @) F8 i) Y; j2 b' F& U. B7 BHe must really be a nerd."6 u: k- _6 _. E6 {- g. J
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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.
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As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.
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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.: S$ e" L' u! f8 f
' \7 {7 g* H( V# ?( t* ~# I! aHis 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( |! ]3 S* { \4 g9 |+ E
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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.0 G7 d8 W0 C" e' V f" s
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As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.
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They really should get lives.# R! R, d) ?8 i; h: z
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" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!": Q- ~2 G, g. o$ e! x# m6 c) G' V
' C+ S+ Q5 c! C3 F V9 H5 \There was a big smile on his face.
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; N; x1 u) O! [6 AIt was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.2 |: s# [6 V. i* k0 b
( w: i: S) [- V! z3 cI helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.
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; [7 \) ^% ^* O! RAs it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.; C) X) k" f) @% m# e$ E
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He said he had gone to private school before now.
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" q: o5 v6 T) i6 z' W5 n' T% gI 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.1 k3 R$ O6 X) r& b& T& J9 z# B4 O
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He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.$ @4 ~% j p& }4 K: ]+ P9 h; s
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I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends.% K: g) l8 ?( @3 D
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He said yes.1 I* N8 Z* w* c7 d) m
7 W9 f! Z, y7 f+ C- b3 E, V% BWe 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.; E: v/ W7 a+ Z t5 j
( T+ q1 `! _9 R' a% jI stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!. c, t. ]/ l7 |: a: w& n
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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 think2 _, t9 \6 ?. U# t- z3 S/ A
About college., y3 _) s4 c+ v- z! \
+ f8 X& t0 U. B5 BKyle decided on Georgetown, and I
3 T3 n- T: r# o+ J3 @. C$ HWas going to Duke." k4 u! f8 G h3 d1 O
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I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.
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He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.0 u* {/ D) e2 | n) @& B* G# g
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Kyle was valedictorian of our class.4 u5 f7 F7 H' m8 O' X' s n9 P- X
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I teased him all the time about being a nerd.9 S( w2 H8 q) D. d" V2 w1 b# W
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He had to prepare a speech for graduation.- P _8 n) o2 d5 v+ V; ~( b9 }
* ?' w, n' G7 WI was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak
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Graduation day, I saw Kyle./ }4 x! L- A5 L0 M$ U2 M( {' C
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He looked great. n( p4 B8 Y$ D
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He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.& M: h" t1 l$ l# L) b" Y. J4 A
a% d2 x! } h+ VHe 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.
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Boy, sometimes I was jealous.& O0 X; S" t* B, a, t% c. L5 o- ?
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Today was one of those days.* `9 r& n! u: C( P' f) z
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I could see that he was nervous about his speech.6 F) E+ ^) i8 h4 Z/ @
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So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"& m6 S& l( D% T; u0 u
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He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled., K) p7 [8 i- F
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"Thanks," he said.4 V- o! t+ z" e4 F5 R; e. x
& i0 D' k2 T1 C7 t/ K7 BAs he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began) }" m6 o: D3 e8 J% K0 @3 {7 d
{+ Z7 W' O8 F q"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.0 ]! `( M5 c% r3 d4 J2 R8 \8 j
& P6 D/ ?6 S! n. F, c1 ]* c) IYour parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...
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/ M/ |3 y7 {# j7 O0 [$ BI am here to tell all of you that being a
8 w9 h+ P P* OFriend to someone is the best gift you can give them.9 H' }$ R. t* M4 F
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I am going to tell you a story."
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9 _9 \9 D: J9 n( r: c) L8 L, t/ mI just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.
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0 P6 F; K7 u1 R8 x ^: N; m0 dHe had planned to kill himself over the weekend.0 S; D, s& t e, _
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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.0 w' k. e& Q7 i8 I) [/ J1 ~* {
' J2 Y" x7 i' QHe looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.- [ V2 ]. S3 B
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"Thankfully, I was saved., L0 H$ _# {8 j! A, t2 m3 l6 X( Q0 @
3 w5 o$ }- D- g9 q; nMy friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."+ |# H8 `! a9 r2 Y* s$ ~1 @
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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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8 v9 ?6 w2 Y# b/ c# C; T/ h3 N% j8 II 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.% _4 ^8 R2 p F8 J
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Never underestimate the power of your actions./ @! F* P( ~8 w
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With one small gesture you can change a person's life.+ l. ?' d7 L1 B/ O8 f8 {9 y
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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.$ o7 W, h' ~' e
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Look for God in others. M/ Q/ B$ Z* k, j2 ~
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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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2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.0 T& O7 j( l8 O* p
$ `5 `. t5 i) Y( p4 B' F8 lAs you can see, I took choice number 1.
4 R2 m3 `1 [4 O# S"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."
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8 c3 j k4 D* c/ V" X! }There is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.
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9 }) w3 M9 @5 ?+ S: E/ RTomorrow is mystery.
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2 q1 _( k9 T3 N& VToday 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.
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If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends. |
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