The Power of Friends ...Thanks Dyanha

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 my 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, 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 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 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 rough 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 all 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