Why 13 Reasons Why is Trending?

How many of you would actually go back to High School if you could, without a do-over? I'm sure there would be very little volunteers. Teenagers and Young Adults face so many obstacles that are slightly different from the challenges I faced as a teen. Everything we say or do can potentially end up digitally immortalized, on the internet. When I was in High School, shows like Degrassi really captured every day life as a high school teenager, and really took it there with sensitive topics like abortion, drug abuse, bullying, depression, etc. In 2017, life as a young adult is slightly different... teenagers are publicly humiliated or harming their peers beyond the classroom.

The show everyone is talking about is 13 Reasons Why, and it's raising eyebrows and  catching a lot of heat. The show follows the short life of 17 year-old  Hanna Baker, who commits suicide due to the pressures of life, and leaves behind 13 cassette tapes, telling her story and why it led her to take her own life. Each tape is dedicated to one of Hanna's classmates, and it explains why they were one of the reasons she decided to commit suicide. The show digs deep into very serious topics that are often overlooked in other teen drama shows. The situations and scenarios the teens at Liberty High school experience, are very real and are not fluffed out into a resolution after each episode. In one of the episodes Hanna witnesses one of her classmates being killed and a former friend being raped at a party. The show even goes there to show the actual (fictional) suicide of Hanna Baker.

Clay Jensen, one of the few friends Hanna had, really cared about her genuinely and was not like the other guys at her school. After Clay listens to all 13 tapes he decides there needs to be justice and awareness for Hanna's death. Even the smallest or meanest joke can dehumanize a person and break their spirit. Sometimes as people we do not think before we speak Our words are real and just like what we put out online cannot be erased or deleted. After watching 13 Reason's Why, it made me think. Is this show for teenagers? Yes and No. I do not think this show is for anyone younger than 16, what is depicted in this show hits hard, and as an adult some of the content I couldn't stomach. I do believe there are a lot of young people crying out for help, and they should not be described as angst or moody. Needless to say, I will continue to watching 13 Reasons Why when it returns in 2018, and it has been picked up for a second season by Netflix.