More than ’13 Reasons’ to watch new series

More+than+13+Reasons+to+watch+new+series

Starting 13 Reasons Why, I didn’t realize two things about the series:

  1. There was a book.
  2. This was so emotional and relatable to so many people, it was unbelievable.

I also didn’t realize it would bring me to tears, that I would fall in love with the girl who ended her life because of the hell she had been through. This show pulled at my heartstrings, made me so happy and depressed and anxious all at the same time, which I don’t usually need help with. Yet I continued to watch.

As I watched episode four the other night, my mother sat down next to me and watched with me. We’ve done this with multiple shows before, shows that one of us had started watching and the other was sucked into mid-season. But there was something different about this show.  

After we watched the final, thirteenth episode, we struck up a conversation about her past, which was strikingly similar to Hannah Baker’s in more ways than one, about the show, and about suicide.

“Many people don’t realize the consequence that they have on others when they commit suicide.” she told me. “Many don’t realize the aftermath they put their friends and family through. They feel like they are alone, that no one cares about them anymore, and they think no one will miss them.”

While watching the show with my mother, it opened up topics of conversation that we would not usually talk about. It helped to open up to each other.

So if you have the opportunity, watch it with a parent. Talk about it. It can help you feel closer to them, and to feel like you do have a support system. I know many of you reading this feel like you don’t. But if you watch this TV show with a parent or guardian, it may change your opinion of that.

This show pulls at your heart and seems to twist and squeeze it. It makes you cry. It makes you look away from your screen when there are horrid scenes because you don’t want to face the reality that people go through when contemplating suicide.

This show discusses and shows numerous situations that are uncomfortable to talk about, things you don’t want to say in the open, topics of conversation that don’t come up in everyday small talk. Sexual abuse. Rape. Self-harm. Stalkers. Bullying. And Hannah Baker has been through it all.

This show will pull you in with the first sentences of the first episode:

“Hey, it’s Hannah. Hannah Baker. There’s not a simple explanation for the things that I feel. That’s right. Don’t adjust your whatever device you’re hearing this on. There’s no one word to tell you why I do things. It’s me, live and in stereo. No return engagements, no encore, and this time, absolutely no requests. Get a snack. Settle in. Because I’m about to tell you the story of my life.”

This girl in high school goes through so much pain and misery throughout her life, and it shows how poorly people treat one another and how it can lead someone to killing themselves.

This TV show is truly heartbreaking, but at the same time you cannot peel your eyes away from the screen. It makes you want to cry, it makes your heart sink, but it makes you look at others in a truly different way.

I personally loved this TV show, and I hope that if you decide to watch it, you’ll love it too. However, if you decide to watch this show, please proceed with caution. There are multiple triggers within the TV show. But it is definitely worthwhile to watch. It shows you the value of friends and how to not treat people, especially while in high school.