One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class 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. 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, he 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.
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 my friends and me. He said yes.
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, "Dim 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 the 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.
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 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 him or her. 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.