The show 13 Reasons Why is new to Netflix and is based on a book from years ago. I remember seeing the book at Barnes & Noble once and it intrigued me, but I never got around to reading it. Out of curiosity I decided to give the show a try, and what I saw ripped me to my core.

The premise of the show is that a teenage girl commits suicide and instead of a note, she leaves a tape for everyone who contributed to her decision. The tapes reveal every circumstance that leads to her demise and it isn't for the feint of heart. Let me warn you, spoilers are ahead.

Hannah, the deceased victim, faced many struggles in her time at Liberty High. Guys started rumors about her which gave her the reputation of being easy. This wrong reputation caused guys to pursue her for no other reason than to have sexual interaction. Only one guy treated her with respect, and that's our main character Clay. He's the one who is listening to all of the tapes after the others involved had already listened to them. The tapes mark their biggest secrets and everyone fears them getting out. No one wants their true colors shown.

The people on the tapes are all criminals. Some are serial rapists, some are murderers, some are stalkers, and one is simply in the closet. But it's a whole lot of chaos and this one girl had to witness all of it. Now, I'm not saying this is realistic, but aspects of this show are very realistic. For instance, the rich athlete rapes girls at every party he goes to and no one says a thing about it. In society, women get objectified and rapists (especially when rich and/or an athlete) get off without so much as a warning. The rapist (I won't reveal who, for those of you trying not to get too many spoilers) admitted to raping girls but claimed that they practically begged for it. In reality, the audience watches the girls hopeless and scared, giving up on life in general. It's not easy to watch and it brought me to tears.

Similarly, the show provides insight into the impact the assaults had on the girls. One of them began drinking to forget the pain. The other, our main character, committed suicide because of it and due to all of the previous sexual assaults, she was unable to let any guy close to her physically and emotionally. She admits that she didn't feel worthy of Clay's love and felt like she would mess him up. This is a real issue in modern day society, or as it's more commonly identified rape culture. It needs to stop and this show proves that. Everyone is defending this horrid human being all because they're worried about their own secrets pouring out. It's as if there is a loss of human compassion and everyone is too self-absorbed to love anyone besides themselves. It makes me sick.

Sitting here watching this show is breaking my heart, but every situation is related back to this one horrible person being excused of his crimes. This show sheds light upon a very real issue and I think that everyone needs to watch it. My heart is broken because I know this is the society we live in. I just hope that this light will make the issue clear and evoke some sort of change. We need more Clays. That's for sure.