Diabetes

Your Actions Mean more than you Know

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, 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.

- Author Unknown

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