I just got finished with this series a few days ago and this is probably the most important show on any platform right now. High school and middle schools should require it and then have a class discussion about it. It starts off slow I’m not going to lie. Initially, I thought this is going to be very juvenile, but it escalated quickly.
But before I get started talking about the show, we need to give a round of applause to Dylan Minnette for his Oscar Worthy performance as Clay. It actually breaks my heart that he can’t be nominated.
I was surprised that it wasn’t Hannah Baker that I related to. While I always had the reputation as the nice girl, not everyone remembers me that way.
I was 15 and my former BFF, let’s call her Amanda, and I just had quite a big falling out. It turned into a rivalry. I was at a party with my new, replacement best friend, lets call her Victoria, when in walks in Amanda. “Ew, Amanda’s here”, Victoria said as she nudged me to look up. I was agitated that she was there. I was 15 and spiteful and wanted her social life to be non-existent without me. So Victoria took the high road and called over the host to politely ask that Amanda personally be kicked out of the party. This wasn’t my idea, but I was not an innocent bystander. I allowed this to happen because I wanted it to.
Amanda was the bold, no-bullshit type so she confronted me. I remember her almost laughing at me in the are-you-seriously-so-pathetic-you’d-try-to-get-me-kicked-out-of-a-party? type of way. Victoria was staring at me waiting for my response, “Look around, Amanda. Nobody likes you. Nobody wants you here.” Victoria kicked in with her taunts. Pretty soon a room full of classmates were now booing her and a kid from our class was chanting “go home Amanda”
The second it all unfolded I hated myself for it. There was a queasiness in my stomach. My sister was at the party as well and she is always passive regarding almost everything that I do, but her eyes were burning me with contempt. Within minutes, my mother was blowing up my phone “How dare you? I’m so disappointed in you. Who do you think you are?”
It’s something I think and talk about so often and still every time I think about it I cringe. I have a very few moments of regret in my life and this is the top of my list. I have no idea how it affected Amanda. She was always strong minded and thick skinned. She laughed in your face when you tried to insult her, which was all the more infuriating. But even through her armor, I knew that it hurt.
13 Reasons Why isn’t just a story that we’re watching on TV. It’s a story that we all relate to. Some of us relate to the bully, some of us relate to the victim. At some point in all of our lives, we’ve been both. Our words and actions have consequences. Our words have power. We can save a life or destroy it and that’s a choice we make everyday. Do you want to be a light in the world or a dark cloud?
