NOTE FROM TED: This talk contains a discussion of a suicide attempt. Please seek professional help if you are struggling. TEDx events are independently organized by volunteers. The guidelines we give TEDx organizers are described in more detail here: http://storage.ted.com/tedx/manuals/tedx_content_guidelines.pdf
In this heart-wrenching and deeply moving talk, Aaron Stark tells of how close he came to ending it all, and how the simple humanity of a friend changed the course of his life. Mr. Stark talks about how powerful it can be so show that humanity to others, and how deeply powerful it can be to just "be human." Aaron Stark was almost a school shooter. As a dark and destructive teen, Stark almost committed a terrible attack. Today he is a happy father of four, and wants to do all he can to help anyone on that path to find a way into the light again, and to see that they matter.
After watching the news coverage of the Parkland school shootings, Stark wrote an open letter “I was almost a school shooter.” This was sent to local news 9KUSA in Denver, and was the feature story on Next with Kyle Clark. This story gained national attention and over 17 million views in a very short time, which propelled him into a life of activism for mental wellness awareness. He has been featured on ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, and also wrote his own article in the Washington Post. This was followed by his viral TEDx talk “I Was Almost a School Shooter“ that currently has over 14 million views and is shown in schools, colleges, universities, and all the way up to the Dept. Of Education. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx