Over the past year since airing on Netflix, Thirteen Reasons Why has kind of divided its viewers. Some have said that the show did a lot of good by highlighting topics no one often talks about. Some said the show was really triggering and caused a lot of emotional damage. Then there's the group that simply made fun of it with "welcome to your tape" memes. All in all, the show has clearly made an impact since its debut.

In total, I've watched the show in its entirety three different times, all for different reasons. The first time was because I vaguely remembered the story from reading the book years earlier, and was interested in how Netflix depicted it. The second, was with a friend, showing her how good the show was and getting engrossed again in the characters. And the third time, I wanted to remind myself of why the show was so important, because to me it really is.

I'm currently a senior in college, I'm a social work major and my internship this semester focuses heavily on homeless women and children. Within this setting, there is a large case of mental illness, substance abuse, and domestic violence backgrounds. Self harm and sexual assault also fall under these umbrellas, two topics extremely talked about in the show, and unfortunately, popular issues in today's society.

Being a future social worker, my job is to help others. I'm a helping professional. Chances are, I will have to help someone heal physically and/or emotionally from one of these issues. And I'm ready for it, this is what I love to do.

Watching Hannah Baker struggle as much as she did only makes me want to be a better social worker, and a better person in general. There are too many Hannah Baker's in the world, and unfortunately there are too many Mr. Porter's who push them over the edge, I refuse to be part of this number.

So I watched it again. And maybe I'll watch it a couple more times. Because regardless of what you say about the show, it is real, and it is raw. It's not afraid to show the reality of the decisions we make. Since watching Thirteen Reasons, I have reminded myself to reflect on what I say, and how I act towards others. Thank you, Netflix. We need more shows that open our eyes to the truth.