     Dayib | Monday, October 09, 2000 - 12:57 am
READ THIS!!
""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 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, 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 high school 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. Allah puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way. Look
for the good in others. You now have two choices, you can:
1) Pass this on to your friends; or
2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.
As 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." |
