- Thread Author
- #2
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 the following 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 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, "Dang 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, 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, fate puts us all in each other's lives to impact
one another in some way. Look for good in others.
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 the following 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 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, "Dang 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, 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, fate puts us all in each other's lives to impact
one another in some way. Look for good in others.
