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, I saw a tear in his eye.
As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.
They really should get a life."
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 some of his books.
He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he
wanted to play a little football with my friends. He said yes.
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.
Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge
stack of books again. I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are
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, we began to think about college. Kyle
decided on 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 I had 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 am here to 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 Irealize its depth.
Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one
small gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for
worse.
You now have two choices, you can:
1) Pass this on to your friends or
2) Forget about it and act like it didn't touch your heart.
As you can see, I took choice number 1. "Friends are angels
who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble
remembering how to fly."
There is no beginning or end. Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift.
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, I saw a tear in his eye.
As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.
They really should get a life."
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 some of his books.
He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he
wanted to play a little football with my friends. He said yes.
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.
Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge
stack of books again. I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are
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, we began to think about college. Kyle
decided on 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 I had 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 am here to 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 Irealize its depth.
Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one
small gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for
worse.
You now have two choices, you can:
1) Pass this on to your friends or
2) Forget about it and act like it didn't touch your heart.
As you can see, I took choice number 1. "Friends are angels
who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble
remembering how to fly."
There is no beginning or end. Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift.
| A Story To Tell |
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