 鲜花( 1)  鸡蛋( 0)
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One day, when I was a freshman in high school,
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* e' a, _+ ^8 k( O2 ?+ oI saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.
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3 y$ p- }4 M, e! t! ~His name was Kyle.
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It looked like he was carrying all of his; | P7 r. O1 V& l0 A* d4 L* h
Books.! t0 V" a2 v- l7 S( x( w
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I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?3 H/ n7 \2 @3 o9 F! i# g$ H2 o
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He must really be a nerd."
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& |6 g4 T- _7 _, i5 MI had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.* Y) W2 n; W! I) P( |5 k; B
2 O! Z8 b8 s. P. ^$ k1 k: sAs I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.! _( |: R$ V T6 G2 z
) i8 M& I! j) G6 \They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.
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7 C% A& y7 }% {( C! F* i, kHis glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.) U3 ?- ], ^ O7 v
2 f2 h0 z7 ^& f2 FHe looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes3 l) D. _ w/ k( R. u- W
! B* @3 u1 o* Z% [( ^+ W* ^4 nMy 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.
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- i7 S" z; a y: PThey really should get lives.
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$ X( R- Q7 g; J" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"
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# B/ o3 a0 f. X" P$ a# hThere was a big smile on his face.! h- y- X1 S, O0 e! Z. I
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It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.
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2 s: Y9 f/ l% C. B( i6 s$ V2 c, GI 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.& y- d7 F9 A1 e% \' n. Q
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He said he had gone to private school before now.& \. D# `0 [/ ]( ?0 b R
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I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.: l$ c; o) J4 n* p4 @1 z
) [" F% a6 K( l+ UWe talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.
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( b! w) e3 `* I( OHe turned out to be a pretty cool kid.
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+ \+ `9 ]! K" s* T, T$ [) K+ zI asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends." b3 z$ l4 F3 }
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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.
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Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.( R* w# l+ t2 F2 I# c) i+ j
) A# h: }4 ~; m6 pI stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!4 e' R" C9 |3 P, r
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" He just laughed and handed me half the books.
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( b0 I, t9 Z" }' M, T0 b$ _, OOver the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.9 S, w* T- t3 W
* H- x; v" |) s( x# X7 @When we were seniors, we began to think
& E4 x! }: w: Z% ?$ S' C5 V' VAbout college.
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Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I
; V$ d0 t3 P" r3 q7 m) ?1 A2 e. G0 oWas going to Duke.$ }7 j, g9 Q5 o# \- ]
+ N$ L5 y1 D j% a7 kI knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.
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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.7 y* a9 z- W5 _( T# O
2 V: p1 I R* l" h6 G$ @: f }+ H1 PI teased him all the time about being a nerd.+ K" `$ S: ~& c/ U/ K
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He had to prepare a speech for graduation.
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& l4 Y+ @- f, j4 \" ]3 zI was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak0 a* j% u* P3 ^( |6 H6 ]9 c) [4 O
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Graduation day, I saw Kyle.
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: Z2 \8 o6 V) p& c1 a6 aHe looked great.
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He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.) \. {% Z' V; z; V+ x4 d
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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." Y3 _ E& p) V* d" I9 @
! w7 |6 q; c. C, |3 WBoy, sometimes I was jealous.0 S- t% g8 l4 r. y
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Today was one of those days.: H$ Z4 E+ ]3 g
8 H) |+ W0 C8 ?7 RI could see that he was nervous about his speech.
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* |- m6 N7 {& Y W8 L( uSo, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"4 G. U7 Q1 k) L1 p! p
; d4 n, m2 t$ h2 K+ ?He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.
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( T2 _, E: ~: D9 o; Z7 j"Thanks," he said.
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As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began4 u+ b& z( j9 h! @& ^
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"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.6 P8 c k& \4 z$ X2 h( m
- s A8 G5 z2 m& W5 `0 z/ JYour parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...
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! p1 R+ s2 t5 U% ]( |% D& \) f) ~I am here to tell all of you that being a
! L! k! p* C8 p+ nFriend 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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I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.8 w6 p, r. E- h9 v& w; Y
6 C3 M3 m* L" `He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.
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: G( j, T w! P8 g& jHe 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.) L- l. t+ J( Q# w$ y3 Y0 `% h. |
% ?3 t1 O, B$ A) `, q, [: KHe looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.% F: H3 T B% C& j5 A8 H
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"Thankfully, I was saved.2 v! b/ |* m8 y
2 d- f; C. ?- [2 IMy friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."; P2 c% j) v3 r x/ ^1 v: d
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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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! T7 X$ [5 A% s' S, {9 eI saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.+ F; C! I* u2 ]
2 g6 B# s" ~+ r1 z5 BNot until that moment did I realize it's depth.
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Never underestimate the power of your actions.
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+ C1 L) j- b4 ^6 b! G% gWith one small gesture you can change a person's life.: a4 j0 ?5 s8 d8 V% r" B
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For better or for worse.. Y) L( B5 L$ X# _; Q
8 u. L2 S( @4 HGod puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.; p8 a9 N: D: A7 \; ]% E. N7 F
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Look for God in others.
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+ {6 S+ v) W1 _2 v4 |% zYou now have two choices, you can:
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l/ Z3 C4 E% p3 c! |: u1) Pass this on to your friends or+ U; l3 S$ W' U- x9 `+ u( \
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2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.2 N; N$ G: k: H
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As you can see, I took choice number 1.
3 m3 ]. D y G"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."
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, M7 t( a; Q( |; \There is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.! f! r4 o* r, ~/ Q, P) m
/ p+ q$ x* [4 S& q# KTomorrow is mystery. Y$ \* b: {5 V9 u
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Today is a gift.
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' r" c5 ]! u I4 uIt's National Friendship Week. Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND." m$ A/ O% A' J$ S9 ?: f/ f
0 Y$ L" k, A6 cIf it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends. |
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