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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.! |$ N: z, i! y) t4 E
" M7 t$ g( Y! L* G' gHis name was Kyle.
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- m9 Y$ R% Y8 \3 oIt looked like he was carrying all of his
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I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? W/ O, e/ O1 _+ J2 j2 _
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He must really be a nerd."( F( e9 O5 y3 `' F
7 F8 B- g; h1 l9 o! v3 wI had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.2 `# A* H5 F4 e/ ?
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As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.$ f% N4 v' b' u. w0 W; J
9 _6 {& b- h: f( uThey 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 x# r# O2 v2 ?His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.# w# s% C! s, S' K( H+ g
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He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes
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, B Y3 O& n8 z; |2 h; g: Q3 VMy 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.: M, h4 S9 O) A
" a& c f0 f- Y- l2 ^. V, T' }+ ?As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.
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They really should get lives.
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+ N- S y( l a/ ]" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"
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" V1 G7 p# V$ D: C d* QThere was a big smile on his face.3 H9 F/ I% j; f+ |
6 p, k8 k3 Y- a+ W% {It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.6 A- b. \! ~" F0 T8 t
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I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.# Q G: z& m: k c: q/ n d* H
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As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.
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& Y9 Z5 p: i3 x$ t' ~( iHe said he had gone to private school before now.! B( n8 x& ]% q! w/ t) d
) r+ T+ H1 M# `! V2 GI 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.; J; D& S0 v" N9 c
/ k& K0 n! c& t* K) d- ^' w% _He turned out to be a pretty cool kid., X A1 ]% q k& {
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I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends.
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8 {: ~/ b. @: s+ k, MHe 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.9 ^! n( N; k6 ~! b8 z! t
# a9 l) P! F8 Z: R+ _5 rMonday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.- \8 f$ V) ?( _- w
! A& e" I% ^3 ^8 w5 U5 gI stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!
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3 B8 t# u. _1 C2 f$ y9 F8 d$ a8 l" He just laughed and handed me half the books.
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6 ]/ e$ ^( U, P+ @ u+ K8 zOver the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.
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When we were seniors, we began to think) x+ A/ y8 u. i! b
About college.' t- f0 Y% x% o5 l' {- c
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Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I
/ f8 K; |# N6 j. M' O+ dWas going to Duke.
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* |0 d9 }+ l; D- ^+ t' I. K" [1 [* NI knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.; A4 v7 ]% u# x3 m; K+ ^3 _
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He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.! F' X' T% |" G, X* \' c( {. ]- P
) e9 p4 p( x* W5 z9 vKyle was valedictorian of our class.; `( S1 W ?" {
7 M: J; E7 D8 u' h0 YI teased him all the time about being a nerd.
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He had to prepare a speech for graduation.- y u3 ^0 h. l( A! O: z& x
; e( B9 V7 I. _I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak, x/ m( T0 z' K& {6 q/ _
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Graduation day, I saw Kyle.6 B) z* d5 b! G+ w( b
/ p2 h- q$ M, {* k/ ]9 {8 yHe looked great.7 S Y7 T0 P3 W. Y5 V2 b
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He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.( |% K" h' L5 ?7 `8 q: s f
) P* n1 c5 J& P6 RHe 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.0 r& c" w7 O) G) `8 s& j% a
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Boy, sometimes I was jealous./ K5 s9 ^- O, T E1 x+ N6 L$ z
3 W/ P& m1 i" @$ w1 p3 HToday was one of those days.
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0 m' A3 f( P C9 y. _3 eI could see that he was nervous about his speech.' Y( @+ V7 c2 X; ^: v4 O2 S
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So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"+ A" }- \% a9 Y5 ?' c
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He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled., k& I' q) o, m; W3 o
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"Thanks," he said.
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% \ `( T6 x2 v/ h- @( v) ZAs he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began3 f3 G( P( L Q9 D% Z
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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..." V7 s- G/ `0 Q9 {6 c! I/ ~8 h! J
6 j* U4 Z. W# ~* X: I7 E8 OI am here to tell all of you that being a
6 R U' h9 p( m) r$ \Friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.
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3 @" }" T7 ?; a2 YI am going to tell you a story."6 ]0 Y' ~! m$ a7 A: I
# O5 F6 R, b, A: C+ x" z! `I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.8 B, o3 o# h) P! r6 E6 H
/ K5 c g! s1 \6 J" w! XHe 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.5 O2 A H$ Q4 l0 V
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He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.4 _ @% e( _5 j! j2 B7 p
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"Thankfully, I was saved.' E: H* i5 O9 ~9 |( n
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My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."+ i) l2 k; l# h* b9 Y9 r& k3 @* G
4 Z# f* M+ w- d/ t. M- y+ {I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.
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* w) A' d1 ~) RI saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.8 o; w1 c, C, `, h* r( Q$ [
`7 v" f7 G2 L ^3 TNot until that moment did I realize it's depth./ e& {1 J( l& j1 M; q6 f, n
, Q( [) s+ W5 @ i8 s: ENever underestimate the power of your actions.
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$ ?8 N2 Z( p+ EWith one small gesture you can change a person's life.# ]: @1 K$ z0 _: z4 S, G% d
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For better or for worse.$ A M1 Y, V/ U5 g4 o2 [& g6 H: R
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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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You now have two choices, you can:$ a1 |# r" ^" W7 T3 T, C/ X" E
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1) Pass this on to your friends or9 g7 B9 r: L& D* V- e
! l9 T* d; ]" P+ e2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.
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8 v# R# C4 w/ t% \3 Q! l2 w" `As you can see, I took choice number 1.+ O7 ~* Z1 g) k* Y$ A4 j1 W
"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."6 s- |# G+ x. G! q0 o2 T, }
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There is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.
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, G) H9 m8 u9 a4 [2 O) D' p* {Tomorrow is mystery.8 {( ]+ o+ L7 E2 b
- n9 q" o* g3 ]" W. W3 R- S1 n& x5 DToday is a gift.1 d- m2 f1 s a! `" C! ]
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It's National Friendship Week. Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND.
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6 }; A5 c4 e( v9 ?If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends. |
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