Tahfifah: On "Power of Action"

~ Solehah & Ex-Sarawak Rangers : Kuching, 01/05/11 ~

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 (a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders & 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 & I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.My heart went out to him.

So, I jogged over to him as he crawled around looking for his glasses. As I handed him his glasses, he said, “Hey thanks!” There was a big smile on his face -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 nearby, we talked all the way home and I carried some of his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I invited him to play football with my friends.

Since then we hung out all weekend & the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him. 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.

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 I had. 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 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. 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. Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.

Catatan:

Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for worse.