You never know

sweetspot

One day, when I was a freshman in high school,

I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.

His name was Kyle.
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It looked like he was carrying all of his
+ u7 }1 n2 i  J' p- n0 KBooks.

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."
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9 y, U2 }6 O- \% H  C* S1 xI 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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. b: A& J9 Q3 {* ]* ^" p+ r2 yThey ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.

His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.
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' u2 p* H8 N7 l% o  R: e4 k. g9 WHe looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes

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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' o& M* N8 b6 uAs I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.

They really should get lives.
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2 c% I+ R; M# h5 u) @5 z$ t" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"
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: h+ B7 u* a+ C1 N& kThere was a big smile on his face.
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  h! K& [2 U4 w6 x( a; n2 p- ZIt was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.

( @/ Q* \0 V" D, xI helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.
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3 A9 P" }, Z6 B0 S/ c# c- ZAs it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.

He said he had gone to private school before now.
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I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.

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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/ |/ l6 l0 z+ Y4 V/ p1 NI asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends.

He said yes.
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+ ?- ~- M: y6 cWe 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.

Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.

2 {" y1 M0 Y% Y! u1 R4 i1 yI stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!

) t( v8 A: Y* X- r7 ]: N4 a" He just laughed and handed me half the books.

Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.

( `/ Z- z3 c  n0 rWhen we were seniors, we began to think
About college.

/ ?5 n: @# m  I& \" e; {Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I
Was going to Duke.
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; c! w  @4 {( ]" v9 iI knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.

He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.

, Y/ k9 l& K* P. ^: NKyle was valedictorian of our class.
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; _  N6 o% [8 [I teased him all the time about being a nerd.

He had to prepare a speech for graduation.

I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak
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" {$ A3 f3 E8 ^& e; u7 v# LGraduation day, I saw Kyle.

4 B' _* S) B# |, MHe looked great.

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.
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  N$ c# b- o! FHe had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.

Boy, sometimes I was jealous.
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Today was one of those days.

* Z2 D1 R1 L% `" k/ Q' y2 e; NI could see that he was nervous about his speech.

So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"
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8 R0 B/ V  L$ H" ^5 ^9 tHe looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.
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8 M* M0 n" [; c# C. @"Thanks," he said.

As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began

1 I$ a$ t- Y1 y; B6 g$ a"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...

I am here to tell all of you that being a
Friend 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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. j* v. x7 n8 NI just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.

He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.

# W; U# W) z0 n5 A8 \* yHe 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.

"Thankfully, I was saved.
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My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."

; W" _8 N5 t- R2 G$ ]I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.
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& N  S" H( T. Y" d0 C4 G- MI saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.

; a1 a9 c  h1 y; W4 g3 E, nNot until that moment did I realize it's depth.
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* S( ?* G# ?9 }# H  J: n& q" Y6 `Never underestimate the power of your actions.

: {9 \6 N0 Q4 D9 aWith one small gesture you can change a person's life.

- n. X) v8 F1 o- Y  HFor better or for worse.

$ Y$ B% t9 }7 O8 {; c8 AGod puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.

4 B3 q0 N& S0 t0 k$ pLook for God in others.
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4 {0 v" l. B& ?; Y" Z/ gYou now have two choices, you can:

1) Pass this on to your friends or
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2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.
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( d  Y0 H! t2 Z' I  ZAs you can see, I took choice number 1.
"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."

1 N7 k* t  a7 k4 x. zThere is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.
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Tomorrow is mystery.

2 C4 j$ w+ o* ZToday is a gift.

* C: O- i: ?3 u2 rIt's National Friendship Week. Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND.
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4 |+ J: h8 R& [& ^If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends.

高桥

Yesterday is history.
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* e. V" Y) M1 T+ b( `- c% ~' HTomorrow is mystery.
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" j5 [0 }. T9 N! R7 AToday is a gift.