Best Friends
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 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 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, "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.
Riviera
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