 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.1 s7 ~- @8 V' M: ]
6 y- F T& o5 ~2 ^) EHis name was Kyle.' w8 d0 D$ e5 W) J6 E
$ X9 U V: f$ X [It looked like he was carrying all of his0 @' U- X8 W O, j! W& q
Books.
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I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?/ i5 ~- `/ ?! x) U+ l
- u; K7 c7 ?; d5 K% mHe must really be a nerd."
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' f. j4 B; f* q$ kI 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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6 J' ?/ n( g# q5 ~1 a9 I6 |They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.2 E( H- b) T& c* C) j! X
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His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.8 _: l# Y* w; \, }" h5 o2 k. W
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He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes
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1 }5 a/ b, ]. k* ?1 rMy 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.5 z) h3 a( _. N) |: m- E( q
& p4 \6 ~4 c0 }8 S- b5 y; Q+ I" AAs I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.
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- l q5 [- n- U! ZThey really should get lives.! x0 P0 ?) W4 d, z- \
# i: p% R# h4 F& ^4 b: p, {" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!": j8 c; L# @% B5 q% b7 d+ h
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There was a big smile on his face.
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It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.
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I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.
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: b0 p2 m' y, B* S3 S5 WAs it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.2 c; k4 R. y, w" A5 i1 |! ]0 q1 X
: ?# l: o$ Q2 B0 I, a# d/ u( t- bHe 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.6 ?3 m, V$ C) G! g2 _& ~
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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.7 n3 h( N2 h/ A5 E; Z
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I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends.7 u! }; m) F, p
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He said yes.0 c5 `' S' B0 i- n, G
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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.2 ~# ~# X5 i, {+ }- f
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Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.9 G9 b7 w! M' s* x: Z
6 ?! L% R$ f- G2 R: d. H) [I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!8 S |: m" o$ X5 e) q
% W9 ?( \0 W8 _$ V' y" He just laughed and handed me half the books.
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Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.7 b/ l/ ]* t( U3 \5 B c3 o
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When we were seniors, we began to think
2 Q& ?: |) V- P' z9 ?$ c- uAbout college.
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; U/ n2 [ S4 l7 I5 b, uKyle decided on Georgetown, and I" B, l+ a- H; M
Was going to Duke.
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# u; E: Y! `' O# EI knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.6 O S) H3 f" f* A! u$ S/ z9 ?% x; c
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He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.- T- |7 N" c" O+ X3 z0 S( f- }' N
, E4 f+ V7 W! U% F! Q( e# j) p* {Kyle was valedictorian of our class.$ e7 w. O; y( r" [; Z9 h
' Z0 B$ i: P) ?; aI teased him all the time about being a nerd.: e }- p/ D4 b2 J0 [6 @3 B8 o
* h" h0 h: b: {1 E1 m5 O2 HHe had to prepare a speech for graduation.
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- O/ N; L* @/ U T7 f1 WI was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak
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Graduation day, I saw Kyle.) Q o8 ~4 z. J: E$ y
6 v8 t) v- K# g' UHe looked great.
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3 l5 c5 C* z' J) b& h* B hHe was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.6 e( F; l+ b# F# m v
2 H( ~3 V1 A0 [: \ I6 e3 NHe filled out and actually looked good in glasses." S% e9 J& X. n) K! R) P
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He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.0 P+ L( K) x: c8 z+ t( x
8 I4 B. C: T, j/ @$ y( w( IBoy, sometimes I was jealous.
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* r4 M# H2 u0 e4 ]( V0 {Today was one of those days.: {: r) |! i# c
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I could see that he was nervous about his speech. b+ J( w& M$ z7 g: N( [. L0 q/ c* ^1 C
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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.
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) L5 @& \! c3 x+ R/ P8 g$ N# A/ \5 Q"Thanks," he said.2 q$ ~) O% x7 m, I* J" N
+ q: I- m2 r9 k. r/ D4 j: rAs he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began
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"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.8 B' y$ N! }! e+ D, M, F
3 u! b0 y3 a' P3 |4 iYour parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...
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! J' @' N/ v! rI am here to tell all of you that being a' C' h7 q3 p) g, j- X
Friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.: h3 u" v7 S$ N! @4 {+ w
1 [, {) `% h4 G+ k. m+ F& W- zI am going to tell you a story."" m; ]7 w" }& B0 ^$ J
1 y, \, i1 _: R) E5 ^I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.) k) u( [; O6 f: _6 k% P* f7 M1 S1 @
) u5 X8 s. `8 D W% b( BHe had planned to kill himself over the weekend.
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3 E' w' @% J$ M3 ^( O2 q" eHe 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., y m F8 T( b( S$ d' p$ [) J
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He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
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"Thankfully, I was saved. W% F3 Y% g9 h
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My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."! y% p1 C0 @6 B& w ?" j. z
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I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.& B0 L7 f8 e' O0 s' H
* c7 l% z1 O) L9 Q- jI saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.
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5 y9 G4 F' r$ c8 Y: l" TNot until that moment did I realize it's depth.1 v; _9 c. a1 ]
9 a! e- y3 I0 p) dNever underestimate the power of your actions.
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With one small gesture you can change a person's life.
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+ g% n# j$ \4 }3 a5 r- l5 IFor better or for worse.* J" M; v3 d$ h, d
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God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.
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+ ?+ [% k6 G6 L. v2 }$ MLook for God in others.8 \ J5 O4 @& u" v* z
0 s& f( x, N0 ?7 Z! PYou now have two choices, you can:6 v8 I$ _0 {; w
8 ?( l( t3 q3 H& d4 I1) Pass this on to your friends or$ T4 h$ P) I, D2 p
7 ~% N4 H8 Q; w% r0 h( f% _2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.
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) q w/ ]1 |1 L/ W4 lAs you can see, I took choice number 1.
% a& k; m0 t6 Z Y2 h"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."9 D% {% ^2 P9 x2 E( C( b5 t" n
: m7 ]1 u: ^" E% a9 D. qThere is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.' z0 }2 h! l' m3 W+ g; i
9 V- }6 }0 @2 h9 P- v7 tTomorrow is mystery.
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3 |# U+ _$ \' D3 ~: w, GToday is a gift.6 Y2 P: }; M% z* w+ I5 r9 l" U
) }" D# N. F* i% ~" o0 j1 O) J$ D' sIt'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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