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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.
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His name was Kyle.
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It looked like he was carrying all of his
4 B, H) N7 A" k8 O6 oBooks.' N; n9 U# R, p3 `, J% q
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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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I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.! ~* N. i; [ T
4 D9 [" T4 F5 l& q. J- @( FAs I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him." z0 \# u' I. q/ _2 v
' s# a( m- F3 Y) A: H, PThey ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. G _) P3 Y2 B# \$ a2 R
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His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.' U7 S' {& W$ F' n
7 a; S* Z6 @ u0 }7 AHe looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes
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4 T0 B0 }- F! b8 f" |, BMy 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.# g& }. k" a m8 ~2 I# H
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As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.
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They really should get lives., H- q6 X, T+ A5 c: U
5 `# `: ?7 E& Y" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"
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There was a big smile on his face.1 Q. D6 T2 j0 a; M
: x: n' e# Q4 ~- jIt was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.
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4 r! Z5 k8 M1 i+ a1 yI helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.
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0 `/ X% H6 A% _' K0 e/ M" oAs it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.5 y3 z( ]) u& O3 y# w8 W% n, K9 H Q
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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.& W, E {# x5 U2 r- F
/ F( C9 _- w( `8 ZWe 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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5 I5 E! _; ^* M/ THe said yes.
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& c$ A5 j' R! T7 q! r" S2 \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.
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; o+ d0 i. |! T) v$ o( d) zMonday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.
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+ }3 P5 j$ A3 C) C' II stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!* \- y# Z0 I! {6 j( e9 I
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" He just laughed and handed me half the books.
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Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.2 E. X0 x# b7 x0 _5 b- a
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When we were seniors, we began to think
* ^8 @" ^1 x0 {# N( H1 i/ mAbout college.
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' k# H1 I8 `' ~* L- rKyle decided on Georgetown, and I
. z! ~' z, f6 mWas going to Duke.& L# Q5 L& W: T$ V) c l n9 e4 e( Z0 v
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I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.: r2 ?9 D% P p3 `1 o
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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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Kyle was valedictorian of our class.5 H: z0 H, Y2 v9 l$ c1 U }; x
/ b" I) h, Z' d3 l% EI teased him all the time about being a nerd.
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He had to prepare a speech for graduation.2 z+ K3 l1 [5 v% M& n9 O6 n
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I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak+ U! e/ C( V; j2 b
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Graduation day, I saw Kyle.
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He looked great.) ~8 }$ W, l, ^. r0 A( z( P1 A. \
! n) o% u$ ?2 ?& V1 q* J0 }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.: E, ~2 s7 \5 {8 d$ K, @( I
' V# d' R1 G; O" S" ^He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.* e4 i- n, W% R0 [1 a2 R6 j8 Y
: R5 A" H1 B6 G% @Boy, sometimes I was jealous.) H X) S: C0 N% C: l) l/ ~
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Today was one of those days.
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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!"
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$ ~4 N, y& q( V5 G/ jHe looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.$ \! m) X! H7 y# Q
& \: t3 Z0 E( y) X0 h* J"Thanks," he said.
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As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began" e8 J1 \: ~' R$ [5 O
( x- b/ G9 q/ x- _7 n"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.% x! d7 m8 w% t x5 D3 n7 d& u
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Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...$ \2 E2 J: g7 z2 L+ i; e) d* P, j: r
8 A' Z' W0 U) V8 T* u) w9 `- n0 A0 fI am here to tell all of you that being a
$ m' }1 q& A" n8 WFriend 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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) d: |& u( l4 b& c6 y! mI just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.
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He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. x; M$ N9 F$ ]! W( \' x6 {( \% G
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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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He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.$ n3 r( l( m' z; \, U" l
& O( C; V! Q5 j; H! [. g: b"Thankfully, I was saved.& @+ e/ E4 v0 j
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My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."9 b$ w# ?! f# ]& q N
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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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I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. N0 P0 X/ _: a5 R( B1 q
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Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.& O( o1 l. g9 g1 _4 }8 P
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Never underestimate the power of your actions.& B8 ~- _# {; r/ f4 {6 c! D
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With one small gesture you can change a person's life." g% M2 r( B) E, n4 G
& |3 a9 k" k. \$ T3 UFor better or for worse.$ f# C2 l( ^/ o* B# I. g# f
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God 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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1 ^5 \( |% E! k1 I% oYou now have two choices, you can:6 |6 Z% x" i5 C5 ^: D4 G. |
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1) Pass this on to your friends or( ^! A) A3 k/ s% U
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2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.* f3 ^9 L( B) g9 d. {/ r/ W1 `( X
& k4 `& D3 P1 [- X' bAs you can see, I took choice number 1.
. E8 h2 R& T( G9 F+ b"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."
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3 ^: |" [! _' x) g9 A! O+ ]8 cThere is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.
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Tomorrow is mystery.
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7 @& b" `! v. a9 P1 R; K2 h+ Z1 s: oToday is a gift.
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* R0 s4 ~+ N. K WIt's National Friendship Week. Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND.8 J9 p4 t- n% |: }
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If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends. |
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