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 friend 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 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, “Damn 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 smiles 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 its depth. Never
underestimate the power of your actions.
With one small gesture you can change a person’s life. For better or for worse.