Kyle was valedictorian4 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 I had and all the girls loved him. Boy, sometimes I was jealous5. 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. Our parents, our teachers, our siblings6, maybe a coach but mostly our friends. I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift