佚名

ne 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 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. As he crawled around looking for his glasses, I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I said, “Those guys are jerks.”

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, “You are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books every day!” 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 wasnt 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 themselves 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, youll 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 wouldnt 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.”

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I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his parents 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 persons life. For better or for worse.

我还在上高一时，有一天，我看到我们班的一个孩子正从学校步行回家。他叫凯尔。他似乎抱着他所有的书。我想：“为什么有人在周五把所有的书带回家呢？他肯定是个书呆子。”我的周末计划得非常丰富（先是派对，第二天下午再和我的朋友踢足球）。因此，我耸了耸肩，走开了。

正走着，我看到一帮孩子朝他跑去。他们追上他，把他所有的书扔到地上，并把他绊倒。结果他摔在污泥里，眼镜也被打飞了，我看到它落在离他十英尺（约三米）远的草地上。他抬起头时，我看到他极度悲伤的表情。我的心也随他而去。因此，我向他跑过去。在他爬着寻找眼镜时，我看到了他眼中的泪水。我把眼镜递给他，说：“那些家伙都是些蠢蛋。”

他看了看我，说：“嗨，谢谢了！”笑容在他脸上展现。正是这样的笑显示出了真正的感激。我帮他捡起书，问他住在哪里。原来他住得离我家很近。于是我就问他，怎么以前我从没有见过他呢？他说在来这所学校以前他上的是私立学校。

以前，我从不与私立学校的孩子交往。我们一路聊着回家，我帮他拿着书。他原来竟是一位非常讨人喜欢的孩子，我问他周六是否想跟我及我的朋友一起踢足球。他答应了。整个周末我们都在一起，对凯尔了解得越多，我越是喜欢他。我的朋友也都这么认为。到了周一早晨，凯尔又要抱上那一大摞书了。我拦下他，说：“你每天背这么一大堆书，想练就一身强壮的肌肉呀？”他只是笑，并把一半书递给了我。

接下来的四年里，凯尔和我成为了最好的朋友。……