One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I
saw a kid from my class was 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 friend 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, "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 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 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 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.
Author Unknown
Designed by
Stella
No comments:
Post a Comment