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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., ], I, b/ `. _- R6 P
9 x8 a' i, z1 _& V% b, NHis name was Kyle.
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1 h, f; {' V6 k& e5 SIt looked like he was carrying all of his8 _* e# l" y1 l1 x8 J9 C, U" _" O
Books.
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7 f/ U. C5 n, {! [2 qI 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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1 C) [. r, F M( C5 v+ _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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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., E% R9 }+ b& S' }
3 W* X: `0 b$ `5 ?3 ~# yHis glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.
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9 y3 N. L( g3 R) L' m, tHe 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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As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.! G/ q8 y9 S' ^& X7 p
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They really should get lives.
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" _% V/ ^6 I5 i4 q8 O1 F" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"
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1 V4 O; [/ o9 I; n o; [# k' cThere was a big smile on his face.5 |5 w( C: a- w7 `9 c
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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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6 t3 t" C; I7 J; l2 {As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.
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+ @" p% E/ J# Z' v4 W5 DHe said he had gone to private school before now.: K6 D- W: j6 g1 n' R' _2 S
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I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.
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We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.
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$ I6 P$ b% {2 J( R1 o) _' `( _9 K# @He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.4 N6 s* y- n4 [2 e/ W
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I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends.
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( i% _& B m/ G4 FHe said yes.! n; ]! b; q- Y: R) E3 x
* M9 I- E' e- r; W& Z& M% kWe 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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: \- \2 [! q) ]) m4 z4 z1 E `/ kMonday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.
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; Y0 Y4 T. U% H8 u! X0 _0 ~I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!
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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.
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( W* |7 b, W4 z0 r; M+ EWhen we were seniors, we began to think
8 o4 O7 r# m' f4 u9 e/ r5 bAbout college.) }5 i- R) |2 ^
& C8 e4 @- }7 k; |1 W. ]$ ^- GKyle decided on Georgetown, and I
$ y$ D% Q$ g, j: a+ CWas going to Duke.
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4 f7 Y! m% v( ^3 s* E9 C8 A1 tI knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.
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. `8 O5 F) _7 b- d6 `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.
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I teased him all the time about being a nerd.' k8 d& I3 a) O- J1 L& W
! w/ [( U. }% m4 k0 {; q, PHe had to prepare a speech for graduation.$ ^" l$ K* @: l* O" N
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I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak
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Graduation day, I saw Kyle.2 }- Y2 G. Y. s6 o# u1 Q
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He looked great.
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! P5 E2 _- l; g; O* KHe 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.9 q, r; A. [- N" Q- ~
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He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.0 l- L3 V3 N* R4 N- p' E: w4 F
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Boy, sometimes I was jealous.
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: p) [2 J# B) ^+ c4 l8 {# ZToday was one of those days.; F7 M" i( D7 D: Q4 {
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I could see that he was nervous about his speech.; K0 m( S: R& Q6 T' T5 k; [ j0 ]
5 j% z+ c# w! ]6 J$ F3 \So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"- w6 W+ R- t, W- J
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He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.
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3 K* U0 l5 j/ t" V: Z7 B+ _9 B6 m"Thanks," he said.
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Y, e S& g- M- |% F7 WAs he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began ~ i+ ?& d( E
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"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...
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I am here to tell all of you that being a
# O. J5 p5 a( f. hFriend to someone is the best gift you can give them.; L- C; s) t4 K" X7 k
2 S, X; z8 b' u$ O0 |) XI am going to tell you a story."# U# h- r: C) H
1 n! _) `' f0 N4 K+ R& m a6 E' vI 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.
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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.$ T6 y7 } l; C( M8 ~& O; p9 @
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He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.% ^( t' w2 S3 f }( i
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"Thankfully, I was saved.
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: M# O4 Z- f9 AMy 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.' i) w( n# O9 y3 P7 T6 n
* G4 U' C T0 s! q0 ?( NI saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.
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2 ^. k: Q1 A) W1 zNot until that moment did I realize it's depth.1 k7 ]* t" C7 Q# o' A1 a9 M# d
6 T( I m7 {& w, Q1 l4 W3 M7 _Never 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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k5 q% e6 X0 ]+ t% v1 D# q' TFor better or for worse.: r. M4 N% I4 F% X) {6 a
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God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.6 v9 p7 {8 C3 i: \, y ?
% p" ?: E5 N: {! V( ?" ]- MLook for God in others.5 ?9 ?- J/ A* q# Y% `
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You now have two choices, you can:
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( f- N- }( j# G' N/ X/ l* r- t1) Pass this on to your friends or' U; U7 L8 G! Z! [& i
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2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.+ [' N1 w" J1 y5 V- H
2 I/ J: |2 q) K; ?As you can see, I took choice number 1.. z3 x4 r) c0 ^1 y* o0 R
"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."/ i% V+ [. }, B# b* h
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There is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.) i5 M8 S2 f D# b4 V- k- u
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Tomorrow is mystery.) H( |3 V7 g$ \8 j# K, S- _
7 ?6 H5 e* n5 H$ d' r1 O8 d' X9 EToday 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.; w" \# U7 S) j) x! c6 [2 W8 `
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If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends. |
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