Because they deserved better.

That is the headline that is following the hashtag #13ReasonsWhy on social media today. If you don't know what 13 Reasons Why is, it is a novel that turned into a Netflix series recently. It is about a girl, who committed suicide and left cassette tapes behind with 13 reasons why she took her own life. And while this is just a scripted Netflix series and written novel, it holds an uncomfortable truth behind it. For years society has pushed suicide, depression, bullying, rape, homosexuals and people who don't fit the status quo under the rug. This series is a slap in the face to the generation that finds no truth or reality in it. WAKE UP. These kinds of emotions are surrounding those around you and I bet some of you don't even know it. Don't be the one to rally a movement AFTER someone has acted in response to their emotions. Take the initiative and speak what is uncomfortable, speak what is not being spoken about enough.

There is a conversation with the girl, and the main boy in an episode. It goes along these lines:

"I love you."
I love you Hannah.
And I will never, ever hurt you."

She replies with, "Why didn't you tell me this when I was alive?"

If that doesn't feel like someone punched you in the gut, go watch the series I promise you, you will be in tears by the end of the first episode. Can you think of someone, anyone you wished you could say I love you to just one more time. There are so many simple sentences we can say to save someones life. People often think today, "I have to have some big elaborate speech about why people shouldn't kill themselves and I don't know what to say" but thats not always the case. Sometimes all it takes, is one person to show they care in one sentence.

Kudos to the directors and producers who made this series raw and real. It shows the distance parents have with their kids, when they think everything is okay. It shows how everyone is friends with everyone, but also nobody is actually friends with anybody. It shows the reality of high schools today; and sadly, it shows the harsh truth of tomorrow.

There are so many people on social media recognizing the fact that the plot of this show is happening around them daily. There are so many people focusing on the fact that people just need to be heard.

There are people who "can't stop thinking about it.." Moral of the story is, everything affects everything. Crazy concept huh?

There are those who find the irony... was it too much for you to take in at once? That people around you are feeling this way...beaten down, hurt, alone. Are you the one still denying the darkness in this world today that engulfs the minds of teenagers? What are you missing?

There are so many amazing reactions by people who see the hurt, and want to break through the chains of society today to talk about the pain going on in the world.

@shylaarenee says

"#13ReasonsWhy shows us if you love or care for someone tell them before its too late."

@mendesxhesc says

"no one knows... for certain how much impact they have on the lives of other people. #13ReasonsWhy"

@ally_sheehan says

"The importance of #13ReasonsWhy:
a) you never know what someone else is going through
b) the things you say and do to others make a difference"

Our world is not a perfect place. It isn't sunshine and rainbows. Its a teenager killing themselves because of a bully, a girl getting raped at a party after she's had too much to drink, or because she just wasn't strong enough to say no. A child feeling alone and feeling like they have no other way out. Is this the world you want to live in?

This show helps people understand that depression or suicidal thoughts should not be taught as an "uncomfortable" subject to open up about. Being 'uncomfortable' for even a little bit is a price worth paying than someone ending their life because people refused to talk about it.

Watch how important every thing you say to someone is. Be kind, it could save a life.