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One day, when I was a freshman in high school,: n3 A& N7 U5 y: d: a/ A: s
6 T6 G. M4 v* g8 C( n! ~I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.! c" n+ |, |! N% n
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His name was Kyle.* Y$ ~0 s0 r: b( ]* y5 i* z
4 g2 }4 E3 l# M' C4 tIt looked like he was carrying all of his
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I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?
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4 g9 ~8 P, K2 _4 {He must really be a nerd."$ N2 U& {. o% W' p3 y. m! M$ X. h+ L& Q# ^
/ ~0 ^1 ~( C6 `( C6 ?- SI had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on., {. `0 j* W8 v( f
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As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him./ B7 ~! K- D+ K! j' U% a" p A/ R
4 X6 M" d3 B. W5 b1 Q" _' OThey ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.: C2 i9 S; `& Z$ z9 r, b
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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
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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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) z* J7 I; E0 ^3 F+ sAs I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.7 O6 z$ C) O \* \: a
5 y5 p8 P7 V" A' C) s e7 L S+ WThey really should get lives. N1 l }# n8 ?" p9 h
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" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"
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There was a big smile on his face. v6 i* [4 W3 ?
$ }- c, k5 M8 h% V" HIt was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude., I% l6 T ?5 G$ s: Y
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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., N2 \; ?( y3 m6 }* B, O% z
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He said he had gone to private school before now.
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- Z0 @: ]# T6 P( O4 |% wI 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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He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.
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' e4 Q! ~0 }- P0 z; h YI asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends." O/ ~3 h4 K4 ~; L
6 N# A1 F1 S6 p8 c2 @He said yes.
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. I8 k; C, j' ?& N1 [+ ?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.* C2 P/ }3 l5 a/ s' O
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Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.: A7 |: @5 t' C0 h
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I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!1 @6 n3 O7 e, V9 I3 i$ s0 ~* K
, x! x, [5 l; Q7 p V u4 Z5 `1 ?" He just laughed and handed me half the books.
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Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.5 O# b6 z' N$ u% n9 O4 r
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When we were seniors, we began to think
; i( R! `- E! ?2 G9 FAbout college.- z& x8 G' D/ a- R# @3 E$ P( G
/ i$ v1 f' O% Y: @: ^1 T4 sKyle decided on Georgetown, and I
; n# n+ y; v# eWas going to Duke.8 Q0 d7 d* v3 L! w' z
' b6 u) e5 F: z, T& |" ~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.
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7 t, N% u2 O3 D* RKyle was valedictorian of our class./ q b: u/ _6 G% p
* q: @6 _" X/ S' X) W. k( mI teased him all the time about being a nerd.8 x% x# I7 F ?6 O$ w& W
: R! R0 e+ X2 p2 y7 O4 cHe had to prepare a speech for graduation.
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! b# S ~8 x" [( ^6 |7 ~# }I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak2 M# w1 r8 B! e% {2 B# \
4 S- N- C) c# Z& W o, _Graduation day, I saw Kyle.8 ~2 A6 J9 z4 A B5 [& e) I
8 @2 ?2 u O/ GHe looked great.
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He 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.3 e$ P; p- q! _$ `5 k! Y+ D$ D
}. j; ^9 h8 rHe had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.
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5 \7 H& a7 U% lBoy, sometimes I was jealous.% y# d. f5 L- q, G6 e+ c7 W
0 b! K1 A" q5 H: c5 bToday was one of those days.4 p i6 Q# C+ b% ]
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I could see that he was nervous about his speech.. T6 g5 }- w( G$ i4 i& r
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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.5 Z B. o/ n, |8 S& |' b, G: V; B
8 R1 I* P6 r/ T( I. b) |$ V, Y"Thanks," he said.
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2 f" t4 ?2 z! N/ q6 MAs he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began+ a1 S6 X* J- H" }- x
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"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.# {/ ~! O$ r8 t3 a9 {1 W4 k9 f
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Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...
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9 {/ q9 `! p- E* x b bI am here to tell all of you that being a
6 k; |+ k- i9 P* P( i# Z+ Q2 oFriend to someone is the best gift you can give them.
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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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9 L; J+ H/ V$ K' W8 T- Y- Q, M, |He had planned to kill himself over the weekend./ O: e/ ]* [7 m( n- a1 s
/ c @$ g7 l- S& F$ ]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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) v) U: ]8 D" }He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
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/ s9 w* R, `5 L1 @5 N; {& \# D"Thankfully, I was saved.- Z* E7 |5 e+ p) k. t; G0 I
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My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."3 a- C( {* O2 c+ X
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I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.$ E: Q$ K( Y5 Y0 \( m
* T0 ^ V1 a0 Z0 [4 aI saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.! V% F9 |: \; |4 @0 j; N% a
. G7 {7 [5 D0 JNot until that moment did I realize it's depth.$ I1 H9 m' z- a4 H4 s
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Never underestimate the power of your actions.
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9 U t4 O; G. R3 E2 e8 w7 fWith one small gesture you can change a person's life.
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4 X9 F$ [. N! d, w2 T* ~5 f& TFor better or for worse.& W E4 G u" \- f
* E+ r* ^7 H' f H: J' ^* yGod 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:# R' Z5 J( t7 G ~
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1) Pass this on to your friends or( S+ h" f/ H; w
0 C! i! }' u l! x) q2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.
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2 W$ R6 D. O3 M zAs you can see, I took choice number 1.
; l X9 H7 c$ X# ~"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."0 ^$ S% D3 w0 G8 R/ O
3 J( Z% C4 \7 VThere is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.
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$ N0 w6 p* h7 d) T' T8 \" i# D+ o& wTomorrow is mystery.2 w) a# H0 l. |* G2 V
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Today 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.2 B7 o' K0 Y7 [- {
2 f9 c9 ]# l C0 `, `7 LIf it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends. |
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