 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 M9 ?7 R8 [8 X* G
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His name was Kyle.
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It looked like he was carrying all of his
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4 ?. B+ B' T$ H% ^) D, \2 {I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?) l4 J4 l* [& R0 D: C
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He must really be a nerd."1 |) X* R% r! V+ k; [- g. A2 N n
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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.
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As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.4 A. F R6 ?# ?8 d1 _4 L
! ~. W2 U+ q9 k# kThey ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.
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) a5 J _% m# F `; |# o9 M, zHis glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.
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5 B2 L6 A# F1 E: L% p$ p! 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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! R9 d: G. u7 i0 IAs I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.
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6 g# z ?# W6 X% A% pThey really should get lives.3 q9 S# J0 J( V7 C N& B3 e( H
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" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"
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There was a big smile on his face.( P) h: v/ q# G8 |. ~* m4 J
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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.- s6 Z: ~/ G. B' u1 ?
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As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.* d8 B3 i# m( v7 H, x! o
% z, w2 l) i9 r( Y' |9 RHe said he had gone to private school before now.
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: u' R9 }6 e+ R% N D2 L- ]' dI would have never hung out with a private school kid before./ b% ^5 R3 Y; Q2 [
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We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.9 A6 ]" \: `- V$ H2 m
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He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.' [/ E# U2 b( F5 [. o) |# C
! r, P; u n4 A. dI asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends.4 k" w, h0 U+ y$ E3 T
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He said yes.) ^3 l1 Q9 j2 S" ^, z6 j% @5 v
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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.7 F. g$ |7 G' |+ u( H) ]" A1 Q
. g! B5 `* q. _/ |" l: z cMonday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.7 T5 r7 b8 W* y& [4 Z
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I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!( R9 Z6 l; I2 S
3 H& X' i! E6 w( K# \5 N" He just laughed and handed me half the books.
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1 _0 g5 R. p4 N8 U3 AOver the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.
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When we were seniors, we began to think
; v: B: u3 L) b3 ~0 w' I I+ s KAbout college.
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Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I2 l4 ]( Q' v- w
Was going to Duke.
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I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.
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; I: Q; t! b* MHe was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.
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6 J8 G* X; N/ J3 @( LKyle was valedictorian of our class.2 k6 u2 L: _5 \$ b
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I teased him all the time about being a nerd./ x: F9 E8 k- L" H
6 R. w0 b9 _0 o+ V* E- V9 \- FHe had to prepare a speech for graduation.$ M3 O* P x& G+ L7 i' ]1 Q1 J
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I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak% u$ y1 }# w$ `( L/ [& s( |
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Graduation day, I saw Kyle.. h6 B1 c8 X# I- F
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He looked great.
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, m4 x+ _. I% z+ oHe 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.
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% i3 y# z/ I. P7 X9 U- \/ T0 C8 [$ PHe had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.; J, r: O* D" ?6 P/ }
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Boy, sometimes I was jealous.; N4 C( h; l8 |* N4 }" p
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Today was one of those days.. v% \2 S1 i& {3 W( }
2 p' @; b/ C; aI could see that he was nervous about his speech.2 B8 ?8 C0 P2 V0 `# E
! b3 p, Y4 e' r9 iSo, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"
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/ K3 _3 a5 A+ ~He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.! u" q& w' i7 f& D; d
# \. I1 G5 e. B' Q1 {5 Y"Thanks," he said.
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' K9 p: m% |9 h; aAs 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.
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/ K; i% O* j2 N4 p/ j4 EYour 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. R" d1 t! U4 `; y+ |4 a8 F: e$ K
Friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.) d& J% e- n/ ~
- v9 H( }% u9 ^$ vI am going to tell you a story.") T4 ?; n- t3 g% Q0 R
3 `5 F$ f6 c2 k# PI just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.% `% L3 `' {$ s
. E& k* L9 o% ` LHe 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.; d* J+ f; r9 Q
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He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.0 V% d+ n7 u2 |, P* z( C/ y
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"Thankfully, I was saved.
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( g1 M! Y# B/ t1 \) a3 VMy 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.: C( ^ b% c/ S" e
& R" F5 J6 p, E: y6 b3 l: [I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.
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# {. K7 C! \, Z& ?8 L* Z6 MNot until that moment did I realize it's depth.+ \* H9 P4 R! n( I9 _
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Never underestimate the power of your actions.
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- E8 ^% Y# X+ ~9 Z( OWith one small gesture you can change a person's life.
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, M9 c" j9 f8 m0 _/ e/ c9 ?# hFor better or for worse.
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God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.+ y' y3 F! m* V! h( X% H
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Look for God in others." d/ M% ]0 v& L* \+ @2 a
- T# l5 f Q8 ~2 }You now have two choices, you can:3 A! H$ a( B3 k7 ?
8 F5 C, h8 z. |6 q8 q1) Pass this on to your friends or
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2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.1 N/ i+ I; o8 S/ E2 ^
1 X5 m9 c- \5 T) EAs you can see, I took choice number 1.; K, K& }; F! @$ `) m& ~
"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."
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E+ i' o) F0 u1 y7 J7 Y0 E+ QThere is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.
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1 I. y) q0 c2 T0 _/ X3 }# k3 C! JTomorrow is mystery.1 e' W P7 e5 H( G6 M1 U. N
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Today 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.
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, q! s* Y2 ^0 I# rIf it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends. |
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