How To Save A Life

Epilogue

It's been two years. Two years since I brought a gun to school. Two years since I last hated the world. Two years since I listened to Mikayla and decided to become a Christian again. It took a lot of talking with Tim and Mikayla but I finally decided to become a born-again Christian. Tim helped me convert back and I started attending the youth group every weekend. But, for a year, I have been a motivational speaker. I share my story with an audience and try to inspire them, saying that it does it get better. Matt, Josh, and Kyle try to make it to my speeches. The same with Mikayla and Tim. We have all become great friends.

Mikayla and Tim sat in the front row of the auditorium as I made my way onto the stage. A slide show presentation was set up behind me, I had a mic around my ear, and a bible in my hand. I gave the crowd a big smile as they applauded me. I didn't start talking until the applauding quieted down.

"Hello, my name is Colin Christian Cortes if you didn't already know. I was a student at Kingston High School. You probably heard about the Kingston High School Shooting that failed two years ago. It was on every news network and in every newspaper across the country. And, if you didn't know, I was one of the perpetrators of the crime." Everyone was silent as they listened carefully. "I, along with a close friend, agreed on committing a murder-suicide at the school. Here's a fact you may not have known about Kingston, it is a cliquey high school. You have your preps, outcasts, nerds, and several other peer groups. But, the school was also a place of constant bullying. I was bullied badly throughout high school. So bad that I went into a deep depression and started developing suicidal and homicidal thoughts. I thought my only way out was going to be through revenge on those who bullied me. But, I was wrong. Because of a new friend, I stopped right before I could shoot anyone at the school. I and my friend were taken into police custody right away and they arranged for me to join a program with other teens who committed crimes. The police had to search my bedroom and they basically took away everything I owned. Then, one night my older brother forced me to watch this motivational speaker who was on TV. I didn't want to but I paid attention anyway. And, one thing the speaker said that actually really stood out was that teens usually question their belief in God. Some run from it and some endure it. After I heard that speech, I started thinking about my life decisions. I was born a Christian but decided to become an atheist when I got to high school. That was when the bullying was starting and I started question everything."

I grabbed the slide projector remote from my pocket and looked at the screen. I flipped to the first slide which had a list of past school shootings and a statistic of how many school shootings have occurred since the biggest school shootings in America. "There have been more than 100 school shootings within the past four years. That makes about 200 school shootings since 2012 and thousands since 1999. Most of the attacks that have happened were inspired by past school shootings." I flipped to another slide. "On average, 93 people are killed and hundreds are injured each day in America due to gun violence. That's quite a lot. 93 more people are killed by gun violence than there is supposed to." I flipped to a slide with more statistics. "70% of people who complete suicide told someone of their plans or gave some indication or warning. I gave off so many warning signs when I was planning the shooting that shouldn't have been taken lightly. I had a fascination with firearms and gave off gestures of violence on a daily basis. I was one of the 80% of school shooters who told someone of my plans prior to the event. According to statistics, a lot of school shooters show clear signs before the event even happens. If that is either gestures or social isolation, it shouldn't be taken lightly."

I then moved on to talk about how I returned to God. "I'm a born-again Christian, like I explained. And, I use my faith in order to help me overcome my mistakes. A close friend of mine gave me a bible shortly after the shooting took place. On the back of the cover, she wrote the following verse:" I opened up my bible and read the verse on the back of the cover. "'Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall me whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have broken rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create to me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.'" I paused for a quick moment. "She wrote more than that but I'm not going to read the whole thing. But, you can. It's Psalms 1-10. This one part really stood out. A couple months after she gave me the bible, she and another friend took me to a confession. All Christians should know what a confession is. But, if you don't, it's when you go to the church and tell the priest in a private room your sins. He then cleanses you from your sins and you are forgiven." I could see Mikayla and Tim smiling up at me as they knew I was talking about them. "'For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD. Plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.' Jeremiah 29:11." I flipped to a page in my bible. "I marked this one down that really reminded me of my new-found friends. 'He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with you God?'" I closed my bible and started walking across the stage, my eyes focused on the crowd the whole time. "It was their act of kindness that led me to where I am today. It was compassion and their forgiveness for my sins. They supported me when no one else did. They made me a better man and helped me come closer to God and our lord, Jesus Christ. I look back at those four years that I abandoned God and I regret every day of them."

I flipped to a slide that listed a whole list of signs that someone could be planning violence. "Every day people are showing these signs about planning violence. Whether they go along with their intentions or not, these signs should not be ignored." I started reading off a few. "Bullying, personality change, gestures, lack coping skills, access to firearms, victim of social rejection, withdrawal from people, prejudice, lack discipline, and the list goes on. These signs don't always lead to gun violence but it can lead to fights, becoming a juvenile, and suicide. We do not only have to learn the signs, we have to teach our children them too and to report any strong suspicious act, especially if a child or teen has strong anger issues." I paused my walking and focused on the entire audience. "Knowing the signs of gun violence or any violence could save a life. If we learn how to intervene we can save millions of people's lives. Know the signs and save a life!"

I flipped to the final slide where it said in giant capital letters, HOW TO SAVE A LIFE and below it read, 1.) KNOW THE SIGNS. "Who knows, maybe you could save a life."

You could save a life.