KINABUKASAN SOCIETY

Towards Unity and Service

Kyle

 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, 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, "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 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 came, and 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 I had 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 all 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. God  puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in
some way. Look for God in others.


Eleanor Roosevelt wrote: "Many people will walk in and out of your life,
but
only true friends will leave footprints in your heart."
To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.
Anger is only one letter short of danger.
If someone betrays you once, it is his fault; if he betrays you twice, it
is your fault.
Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events;
Small minds discuss people.
He who loses money, loses much;
He, who loses a friend, loses much more;
He, who loses faith, loses all.
Beautiful young people are accidents of nature,
But beautiful old people are works of art.
Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make
them all yourself.
Friends, you and me....you brought another friend....and then there
were 3. We started our group.... our circle of friends....and like that
circle....there is no beginning or end.

Yesterday is history..... Tomorrow's a mystery. Today is a gift.

Contributed by Fr. Jesus Emmanuel (Chulie) G. Obias

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