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You can make a difference.
One day, when I was a freshman in high
school, I saw a kid from my class walking home from school. His name
was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to
myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?
He must really be a nerd." I had quite a weekend planned (parties
and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged
my shoulders and went on. As I was walking, I saw a bunch of
kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books
out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses
went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from
him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes. 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. As I
handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks. They really
should get lives." He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!" There
was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed
real gratitude. I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where
he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why
I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school
before now. I would have never hung out with a private school kid
before. We talked all the way home, and I carried his books. He turned
out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play football
on Saturday with me and my friends. He said yes. We hung all weekend
and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him. And my friends
thought the same of him. Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the
huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said,"Hey boy, you're gonna
really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!"
He just laughed and handed me half the books. Over the next four
years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we were seniors, began to think
about college. Kyle went to Georgetown, and I was going to Duke.
I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a
problem. He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a
football scholarship. Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him
all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for
graduation. I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak.
Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that
really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually
looked good in glasses. He had more dates than me and all the girls
loved him! Boy, sometimes I was jealous. Today was one of those days. I
could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the
back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!" He looked at me with
one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled. "Thanks,"
he said. As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began.
"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those
tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a
coach... but mostly your friends. I would like tell all of you that
being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am
going to tell you a story." I just looked at my friend with disbelief as
he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill
himself over the weekend. 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. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. "Thankfully,
I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable." I heard
the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all
about his weakest moment. I saw his mom and dad looking at me and smiling
that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize it's
depth. Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small
gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for worse.