First off, let's talk about the fact that 13 Reasons Why is a novel/show about a girl who committed suicide and left tapes saying why she did what she did. When did that become a game? When did suicide become a joke? What is this world coming to where people are making games out of what is meant to educate you on what to look out for and what you can do to help? If this is the kind of attitude our generation is going to have in the future when we have kids of our own, I don't know what I'm going to do. Just the idea of this game makes me furious if you couldn't already tell.

To those of you that haven't seen the postings, what people are posting on social media are things like:

"Let's play #13Reasons Comment your name and I'll tell you how you've done me wrong"

I don't think people who post this fully understand how much of an impact their words or actions can have on someone. You could say one thing but someone else could take it to have a completely different meaning.

For those who haven't read the book nor watched the show and have only heard about it due to recent popularity, let me give you a little run-down on what the story is all about. Hannah Baker, the narrator, committed suicide because she was hurt, insulted, harassed, assaulted, and nobody tried to help. Before she commits suicide she records 13 tapes explaining why she did what she did. Each tape is about a separate person and what role they played in her reasons whether it be by instigating the social torture, participating, or even just sitting back, watching and not doing anything to stop it. It is a heart-wrenching tale about a poor teenage girl who was bullied so bad that she thought the only way to stop it would be to end her life.

Yes, I'm being very blunt about this but that's what happened. And people, mainly young adults, are making a game out of it where they tell people what they've done wrong. These comments are public for all to see! Anybody could see what they've "done wrong".

In the story, Hannah Baker explains that rumors played an extremely large role in her choice to end her life. In fact, Hannah actually says on her tape "A rumor started a reputation that other people believed in and reacted to. And somehow a rumor has a snowball effect. A rumor is just the beginning." (Asher, 13 Reasons Why). She's right. Bullying is a huge problem and so much of it starts from rumors. It may seem like just talking with your friends about a "silly rumor" you heard is fine, but either one of your friends will go and tell one of their other friends or someone will overhear your conversation and continue spreading it around and soon everyone in the school will know. Even the tiniest comment about someone can completely change someone else's view of a person. Friends stop talking to you, not even willing to listen to what you have to say about the rumors, someone you've never even talked to before stares. Even teachers can look at you differently. And once that happens, the bullying begins.

As Hannah herself says in the story, "You don't know what goes on in anyone's life but your own. And when you mess with one part of a person's life, you're not messing with just that part. Unfortunately, you can't be that precise and selective. When you mess with one part of a person's life, you're messing with their entire life." (Asher, 13 Reasons Why).

And people are taking all of this as a complete joke. If you haven't seen any of the postings, you're lucky because some of the comments are terrible. You'll have kids that get told that they did everything "wrong". But then you have the kids that get told "You could never do anything wrong" with a kissy-face emoji. And these will be comments off the same original post. It's heart-breaking to even look at.

So if you're reading this and you've posted one of these "games", please take it down as soon as possible. It can, and will, do a lot more damage to a person than you may think at first. Over social media you can't read what is a joke or sarcasm so things can be taken very literally. This is a serious problem. How would you feel if you were told that you did "everything" wrong? Not good, right? No, so don't do it yourself.

If you're reading this and you see one of the posts, please report it. These posts need to stop and need to be taken down. They're more damaging even just being looked at because if you read the post, you might start thinking about what you did "wrong" and that could lead to worse thoughts. And nobody wants that.

And finally, for anybody out there who is feeling, and I hate using this term, suicidal, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline can be reached at 1-800-273-8255. They are open 24 hours a day and are always willing to talk and help. You may think that you'd be better off, but trust me when I say that you wouldn't be. It's not worth it. Call the hotline, they can help.

Thank you.