 鲜花( 1)  鸡蛋( 0)
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One day, when I was a freshman in high school,
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' a, ]& s+ V& E0 RI saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.& \5 S0 h5 b& O" |" I' ^
9 z& Q9 }; M! p6 G4 b% [" @His name was Kyle.; j8 z! j# v- W, ^5 {8 N
{6 |: \' P ]' f: J! q- lIt looked like he was carrying all of his) D9 P6 K! s4 P1 K2 O2 T; ?# O
Books. f, j9 y) Y' h$ i o' Z( w* M2 H, [
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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."
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* ~' S( O* H( r, }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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/ Z+ \. ?. t( d5 \As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.8 c: w: J6 X+ ~5 H; m+ m7 o* P
6 L: V6 w$ c- R; w3 |$ bThey ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.
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- M( a! j" L: OHis glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.
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- z2 w6 y( i5 ~8 NHe 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.$ u: F+ P8 d7 i# t0 X$ P- ]
3 Q+ a; d$ s' JAs I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.
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They really should get lives.
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" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"; E$ ]% u/ Q; r" Z c& c v
, U: l. k3 m$ U' s% _' H* VThere was a big smile on his face.
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: {' R( c& \4 R8 A/ p1 B) \It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.! z1 f0 T4 g5 D. d7 I
' Q+ X" p) w2 `+ s, YI 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.$ c+ q8 e& b% C
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He said he had gone to private school before now.- P8 j8 {$ Z6 u* v/ m( y
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I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.1 {. b# z7 k4 B, x2 @0 }
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We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.
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) {( U: X/ K. ?9 t- T) M* RHe turned out to be a pretty cool kid.
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" H) q) F+ F2 @I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends.
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He 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.( l& m' \6 E, e! A' ]
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Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again." j: T& H! B- l( c/ y9 t! q: s
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I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!( G4 E% w1 Y# m$ @) U( b2 B% U
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" He just laughed and handed me half the books. v. }/ c. t' [
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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 think
2 Z4 U& z" g3 \. Z' l/ y5 M9 tAbout college.; Q: O& S4 w& |$ |& e
$ t, G: e0 a& Y$ ~Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I
' N" R- T) r9 i7 [# _+ r0 Q8 m# iWas going to Duke./ f. y8 o% C+ k: j$ I1 H( N* L
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I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem./ `' b! Z( Y. V. E7 S
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He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship./ d7 ?% {' \! P& _) b- C4 @2 a; d
3 V7 N6 U8 Z7 I$ b- Z* w6 DKyle was valedictorian of our class.
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2 [3 h- U3 V o$ eI teased him all the time about being a nerd.
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, V9 a( w( v/ w: g6 V) Y3 BHe had to prepare a speech for graduation.
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; @3 y" s2 W1 `* ]7 yI was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak
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9 I4 f* p% I, t+ Z7 X- S, Q& }' uGraduation day, I saw Kyle.& z. O0 e: |3 U1 r- V
! S# @. _: X: |3 G1 z3 cHe looked great.: m: g. v# V% [+ E0 b4 h
; e0 L3 q7 G7 s7 rHe was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.7 L4 X( s; M2 Y% E
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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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' x& R# p7 @: i6 GBoy, sometimes I was jealous.4 \' i2 R, B* m1 z
0 w3 w1 {4 a3 u6 L/ n$ X% g5 g$ _. w1 _Today was one of those days.+ W$ B1 H- `# j, g4 S/ B3 s
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I could see that he was nervous about his speech.
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So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"4 r: ]* v" s' [ |
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He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.# C# z) Q4 C4 e
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"Thanks," he said." o. s+ Y9 b3 I% Q0 I
. M% N( ^* X+ Y# M* \4 aAs he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began
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6 c0 ?, }7 M9 A/ F8 X"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.
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3 x9 c: j" `( t5 x( {; UYour parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...
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, z, J2 q' J( w5 ` Z0 |* fI am here to tell all of you that being a6 Y: |/ K5 q% u/ U5 J
Friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.
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( _0 F% y( I- `7 d& v! ?4 J% aI 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.8 N- ]# c" B. Z5 | k! m: Z
% [% V0 o ^5 @0 K6 ?& X1 oHe had planned to kill himself over the weekend., v/ Z, t# @+ j0 x6 i
2 x9 G- n# O3 D& sHe 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.& n- J$ P, n1 h) F; ?/ w
7 G$ f, k* R( f, B0 U6 OHe looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
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"Thankfully, I was saved.% G1 D0 ]+ S& S- s. j+ u
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My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."" m2 y' u7 D" e" z" j
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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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: z$ A& j% c% P4 ~5 s; L( ^ OI saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.* I7 `; z1 B+ O5 W1 {4 A
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Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.
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Never underestimate the power of your actions.
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& x! i; g6 m8 oWith one small gesture you can change a person's life.# x' Q' h) I7 m- w6 j
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For better or for worse.- s) y" h' }" x" v( v
2 Y; ?9 C! {. @& AGod puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.3 d) m$ a1 T: H2 y# o7 P
% ~# N4 B" |, D1 wLook for God in others.
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You now have two choices, you can:2 d& {8 }7 {/ j6 c3 x& s
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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.
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As you can see, I took choice number 1.
+ W; y0 e* D$ Q"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.") A; A! v9 F' o4 x g) }+ |
8 N2 T8 T. g" m8 Z0 g4 aThere is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.
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( J1 B6 @1 v8 M0 zTomorrow is mystery.4 k. m% B. B6 n$ `$ p
! @" r3 P4 O5 E2 S" ]5 Q# gToday 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., ^4 Z1 Z7 q! n9 \$ r2 s( T
% @# v4 S) o& K) o- VIf it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends. |
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