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One day, when I was a freshman in high school,) U8 f* i$ B: X7 p3 C3 s* x
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I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.' n3 q2 I0 A L( q% s8 B! l- [6 r
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His name was Kyle.
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It looked like he was carrying all of his
5 E- X& H1 i/ WBooks.
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3 R& O0 K' R/ d; zI thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?* t" M; A" K- B: }7 Q2 w- V% D5 Y
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He must really be a nerd."+ r5 {. V; Z- \ ?+ Q% D
, B# ?8 S3 c7 z% q. PI had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.( x, G# Y. a, q+ \, R. ~. Z
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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.0 b9 n. q1 P% K$ R8 E; x
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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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$ L- s* x8 L9 U' B# oAs I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.- e/ Q3 y" M: G7 F) |1 n
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They really should get lives.
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" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"
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. x( P: d- W) UThere was a big smile on his face.9 y; W! N1 {) L5 g, z# r' L1 m* G1 y! s' \
9 _) D% l, ?; `: FIt was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.( i) w9 q j+ D- M3 }
# r9 h( W" M3 N5 _) ~, a6 [6 TI helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.* n- ^) C+ h+ t8 G
. G2 X) H& E- j( E% Y8 ZAs it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.
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He said he had gone to private school before now.$ U& g. ^- P' a9 u
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I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.$ r( L0 b U" ?) L& T1 ~
4 |6 S B# P+ j! P [5 rWe 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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I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends.
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" f7 ]5 q H0 [# _% jHe said yes.
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! R/ b5 m5 Z' @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.+ {6 L6 v* ?1 p% x6 ^
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Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.! b; G' k6 z! [" D
' G$ @) K, C2 {4 e: X1 Q6 B8 _I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!
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% Q% q g6 g; _3 y O* w" He just laughed and handed me half the books.
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Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.* j2 N8 p, O/ J: \8 d2 g; _
% [: U& a/ K1 X. u% a3 v: w7 H+ kWhen we were seniors, we began to think) _* H" E3 r" {( n( a4 |- `
About college.
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Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I7 ^9 _3 v; L2 v8 @& |# m+ C+ K
Was going to Duke.' E/ n4 F- x$ k! _
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I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.6 S( P* B/ S$ Q
* V6 J8 f P8 i% ~% U" E" DHe was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.
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: V9 F" \. D0 {- {0 BKyle was valedictorian of our class.
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( P1 k6 J* j& l+ dI teased him all the time about being a nerd.
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- c; e! v" s) _+ {" d/ |! VHe had to prepare a speech for graduation.6 J& i H0 E E
, E9 L/ F, H1 aI was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak
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Graduation day, I saw Kyle.
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- l" N! M; n1 n1 PHe looked great.5 B) G7 x A5 {" Z2 g
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He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.& P6 t* b `2 s0 V/ n
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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.
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+ U0 m. }" O s8 ^( }% x% W6 I* Y7 lBoy, sometimes I was jealous.
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0 T& T$ v- G$ F% l& VToday was one of those days.
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I could see that he was nervous about his speech.# T D) l7 |6 s( j
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So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"
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4 `4 Y1 y2 R1 AHe looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.
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5 E" d! M( v4 H& z: ?% J6 S9 v2 a"Thanks," he said.0 e! m9 s7 K) V$ r; `
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As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began @2 v- B Y! Q z( G+ Y8 `5 @$ Y8 Q
# a9 O0 y4 v5 u# x- |% N5 @1 P"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.../ r$ \9 V! U% A& L7 F! s P) ^
2 L' s9 P+ f4 N! M& I2 jI am here to tell all of you that being a
, T. P1 U0 h% d' }& ~. ]3 M( m: IFriend to someone is the best gift you can give them.
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4 C; |. {& o) ?6 E, o4 r! G0 bI am going to tell you a story."5 |% H$ J' @* w1 {! H Y
" C3 L# ~& ^8 N! J# L! E* CI just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.+ M4 w# {0 L1 e( r* E* d
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He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.
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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.
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# \0 k6 ?& d2 q4 v m7 sHe looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.1 \: L; o5 q I' B
0 j0 o5 f) Y. I( F- u"Thankfully, I was saved.
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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.3 h/ F3 j% m- I, ?% k
. i+ j% n& j4 M* V% s( HI saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.
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( P/ `% m# T% D7 INot until that moment did I realize it's depth.
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Never underestimate the power of your actions.: }+ w: a% `. V- B1 |/ v: F
# C0 ]# e, \4 H* n( K1 m. l: @With one small gesture you can change a person's life.
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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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5 X% h# V/ @, f. V" H: TLook for God in others.. p7 k" N9 T2 k: w4 C+ N
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You now have two choices, you can:
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/ F& D6 g" h0 h' I+ p* r3 G1) Pass this on to your friends or6 ]: V# Z6 H+ ?
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2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.9 c/ _8 N6 Q& c, ^/ c8 {" z! P
- ?+ c4 ?; q5 b4 s% YAs you can see, I took choice number 1.- P, g# l" F! v" P" ^& U
"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."7 [5 h* v; u" d
. A( C3 A* e' e+ N. h0 }; r D) E0 XThere is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.
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3 J, l! l$ ?7 c& n: {1 eTomorrow is mystery.2 [1 M. B: E* ~5 M0 k
, G% I8 s) j# [% W; [5 WToday is a gift.+ ~/ n/ Z* z1 L8 g9 I6 } I! h
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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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