Power Of Your Actions
One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for
worse.
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
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.