There’s big talk these days about the television series 13 Reasons Why. I’ve seen both positive and negative reactions, which makes perfect sense because the show touches on topics that are very sensitive in nature and things that people feel completely different about. But whatever your take on the topics within the show, I strongly encourage every man, woman and teenager to watch 13 Reasons Why. While certain scenes may be tough to watch, as they were for me, the reality is that this show touches base on things that happen in high schools – and even middle schools – across the nation, and likely the world, every single day!
Why your should watch 13 Reasons Why
My 17 year old son is the first one of us who started watching 13 Reasons Why and he said that I should watch it so one day when we were looking for something to watch on Netflix, my husband put it on. We were hooked right away and watched almost half of the season that evening and were finished with the series in just a few days. We couldn’t stop watching because 13 Reasons Why really draws you in. It was a mixed bag of emotions for me throughout the entire series but I remember often saying to him “Oh, my God, those kids are just fucked up” and it really hit me close because like I mentioned above, this kind of stuff happens every single day! It’s not like this is just some fictional stuff we’re watching here. While it might not be fully related to actual events that took place, this stuff really does happen!
And it’s not right. It’s not right in any way, shape or form and the only thing to blame is humanity. As a people, we have lost our humanity and we need to do what we can to bring love, compassion and all around caring about others back into our lives. As parents, we need to teach our children how to be good people. As adults, we need to allow our children to learn by example, by being good people ourselves. As a society, we need to say enough is enough and stop just sitting aside when we see any type of wrong-doing.
Perhaps you’re already doing these things and I applaud you for that. I am not trying to criticize here, but rather make a point that there are things wrong and it’s up to us to make changes, to make a difference, to create a better world for all of us.
I can really relate to Hannah because my school life was similar to hers in so many ways. Kids can be downright mean and hateful, hurting you to your core. Like Hannah, I often wanted to give up. I felt like I had no one. My parents weren’t around, I was estranged from my family and the only thing I had to hold on to were the few friends that I had. It’s funny because less than a handful of those people are even in my life today.
I feel like that entire period of my life, from 13 to 18 was nothing but a toxic mess and it wasn’t until I rid my life of that toxicity, that I learned how to truly be happy with myself. But during that entire period, I was a broken mess. I can’t tell you how many times I cried, how many sad poems I wrote or how many times I sliced my wrists. It was awful. My life was meaningless and I just wanted the pain to end.
Being a teenager can be really rough, and especially so when you feel absolutely alone. That’s why I’m writing this story, to hopefully inspire you to do some good. ?Let your kids know that you love them, that you are always there for them and that they are your number one. Love your friends like family and when you see a peer struggling, offer support in any way that you are able to. When you see some punk bullying the school nerd, speak up and tell them to knock it off. Tell a teacher if you have to. Just do SOMETHING. You may save someone’s life.
But 13 Reasons Why isn’t just about suicide, like so many people think. It’s about teenagers, the things they do and what goes through their heads. It’s about a lesbian who is so afraid to come out of the closet, that she doesn’t care who she hurts to hide her secret. It’s about a girl who wants to fit in so bad, that she’ll go to any lengths to do so. It’s about a guy with a sick mentality that he’s everything who doesn’t think that rape is a bad thing. And it’s about so much more.
I strongly encourage you to watch 13 Reasons Why. Watch it alone or with others and just let it really sink in. Let the cold, hard truth hit you; the fact that teens are going through things similar to those in this series. Open up your mind and your heart to do right by others, to love unconditionally and to stand up for what’s right, no matter what.