You never know

sweetspot

One day, when I was a freshman in high school,
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I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.

His name was Kyle.
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It looked like he was carrying all of his
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9 q- z& f4 l1 U# x9 tI thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?
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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.
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1 n+ T: H; r- I& Z* X: |As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.
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They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.
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6 s9 A& V: F7 T2 r  C5 w9 H/ yHis glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.
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% }+ |6 v" c" r# P2 q7 RHe looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes
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8 n5 w+ y0 a1 }8 hMy 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.
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+ d4 {7 r# l6 a. \. A3 K# j: m" pAs I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.
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They really should get lives.

: I7 X2 z) a8 a1 {: _" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"

: Z" O; r6 p! j9 E; ^3 o+ KThere was a big smile on his face.

It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.
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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.

8 t$ e+ G: @& ?, R/ wHe said he had gone to private school before now.
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+ e$ R% H# T' l3 o* a/ u5 E' {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.

" C3 n* x8 a, P" F) g& d" pHe turned out to be a pretty cool kid.
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1 @3 `  Z6 g1 r- ]- ?I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends.
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He said yes.
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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.

# ]* d; k5 m# {; u* xMonday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.

& W; U( M! I; |6 aI stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!

% w! A' D( c$ z# N, _* v" He just laughed and handed me half the books.
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Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.
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6 D4 y; E4 q* w4 W  ]& k2 }When we were seniors, we began to think
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. ~6 j+ \& l7 uKyle decided on Georgetown, and I
. P+ _* N5 f: u, C+ Y- MWas going to Duke.

I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.
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He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.
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, J4 n9 g* V  y% O9 kKyle was valedictorian of our class.
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I teased him all the time about being a nerd.
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He had to prepare a speech for graduation.
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' N( S5 E& p7 X  E# B) WI was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak

Graduation day, I saw Kyle.
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2 n" k. l+ F9 f, r* b) [7 r6 eHe looked great.
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" m) e0 V: _6 s0 P/ E8 vHe was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.

7 c; I- J! h) g9 E' AHe filled out and actually looked good in glasses.

He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.
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6 e+ i( Q+ C1 lBoy, sometimes I was jealous.
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+ P) u& y# @% h$ pToday was one of those days.

I could see that he was nervous about his speech.
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! V. h5 i& |" T+ u+ p! D& ySo, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"

" k) ^& O( w5 D. S8 m& u  ?He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.
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"Thanks," he said.

As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began

: L1 k' \+ `( n"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.
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Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...
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" o9 ~# M2 L. F$ LI 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."

$ B4 u' ?/ m( r9 hI just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.

& B* O% @: M9 MHe had planned to kill himself over the weekend.
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  I2 R3 W, N8 z/ D0 x4 S% oHe 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.
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He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
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# H+ k7 B) J, e2 a"Thankfully, I was saved.

7 W) J0 Q$ i: X) ~( ]+ d9 \My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."

% A/ C* L* X* a( `$ Q5 u' D7 TI heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.
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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.
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+ |! L7 E4 m, I) `+ fNever underestimate the power of your actions.

With one small gesture you can change a person's life.

For better or for worse.

, E! O, ]$ l+ _8 d7 t5 f0 xGod puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.
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Look for God in others.
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" z. }" R6 V8 S1 _5 yYou now have two choices, you can:
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3 F1 M. l# \* b1 _5 J- o1) Pass this on to your friends or

2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.
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9 A/ t1 y: j) N3 x4 dAs 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."
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: [0 g3 m: |* n+ Q4 }$ X. a; @There is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.
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! W" J! [4 V" \" oTomorrow is mystery.

* r( T  E* ~$ k" O) R: jToday is a gift.

It's National Friendship Week. Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND.

$ Z2 s0 @5 C6 i( ^  A6 m3 ?If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends.

高桥

Yesterday is history.
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% S# f  f8 Z/ H6 `" D; h/ G! iTomorrow is mystery.

% a1 l1 R: R# J, s9 C( EToday is a gift.