Jag | 21yrs. old | Student
dalagindingg:

The Story of Kyle
One 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, 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, but 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 out 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.On 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 its depth.Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture, you can change a person’s life.
cant-find-me-now-kylie:

f0nday:

wut

Why am I laughing so hard LOL
theseunforgettablememories:

Before you laugh and before you keep scrolling down your dashboard, please stop and read this. Please.
That’s me, Heather, on the right. My sister, Emily is on the left. This picture was taken on my homecoming day, September 17, 2011. Emily is, believe it or not, 25 years old. She is mentally handicapped.  Laugh, point fingers, go ahead. It’s all happened before. But it doesn’t phase her. She is the happiest person I know. She has the mind of a four or five year old. When she gets excited, she yells as a way to show everybody she is excited. She loves to show people her clothes, and get compliments. She calls every cute guy she sees, her husband. She is the cutest thing. She’s like my little sister. I’m not posting this for sympathy, because, trust me, that’s the last thing I want. Having a handicapped sister isn’t a bad thing. It’s actually the best thing I have ever been through. Sure, it’s stressful. Sure, I get tired of people laughing at her, because they don’t understand. But none of that matters when I see her smile. She is my hero. Having her ask me, “Why do people always laugh when they see us?” is the most painful thing I have ever experienced. Nobody knows what this is like, unless they do it everyday. I have yelled at and publically embarrassed multiple people for laughing and pointing fingers at, not just herm but other handicapped people, as well. I have cried for days and nights due to people judging her. The reason I am posting this is to raise awareness. Sure, it isn’t breast cancer awareness or gay pride awareness, but I want people to know what it is like for the person who is being judged due to their handicap, and that person’s family. I’ve witnessed some pretty ridiculous judgements, due to having Emily as a sister, but I try not to let it affect me, so she doesn’t notice. I just want there to be some people to stand with me in raising this awareness. I want a group of people who will not judge the handicapped, who will actually accept them, and treat them as if they are human beings, like the rest of us, because they are. If you are one of those people, please reblog this. Let’s get this around Tumblr, and help raise awareness. Thank you guys, so much.
yumiilovee:

AMEN.
fuckyeahfirstgenpokemon:

denzelgtfo:



okay yes