On that day in December everything seemed normal.  We had just wrapped up a discussion on the death penalty in Bible class the day before.  Little did we know that those ivory tower discussions were about to become real.  I knew Nicholas.  I wouldn’t say we were friends, but were definitely weren’t enemies.  I helped him study for French class, and I thought he was a nice guy.  He was a little shy. Although not an academic, he was bright enough and always kind.    That day came as a shock.  I don’t want to get into small details.  I don’t want to create a how to manual. What I want to do is explain the absurd, but completely explainable actions of a child.  Teenagers look so much like adults we often forget that they are not.  Halfway between childhood and adulthood is a confusing, and frightening place.  We are at our weakest and most vulnerable when we are just stepping out on our own.  It takes a village to raise a child this is true. It takes parents and relatives and teachers and strangers and store clerks even to be responsible for all children everywhere. There was a chain of events that started long before the day that a gun was brought to school.  One boy was a bully, one was awkward, a man was stupid in actions, a store clerk was careless, teachers were oblivious, and students were unkind, unaware, and unable to speak up.  There is always plenty of blame to go around.  This isn’t about blame, but hindsight. If we can truly learn from mistakes that are made can we prevent them from happening again?  I believe that the answer is yes, a resounding yes.  Each character in this human drama must be dealt with and shown a new way, for this drama plays out every day. Yes, sometimes the results are less tragic or not even noticeable at the time, but sometimes they are just as tragic.  No one should lose their life whether physically or emotionally, because we can’t control our anger and negativity.  My hope and goal is to create a sounding board for emotions and situations.  People of all ages need to grasp a real, concrete way of dealing with anger, bullying, negativity, and feelings of being the odd man out.  We have to stop living in a bubble and start reaching out to each other.  One young man ended his life by ending the lives of others because he saw no other way.  Help me stop the violence and hate that spread among our children. Let’s create another way.