We Just Never Know...
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 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 his 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, 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.
Love - Words