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Interview Regarding Mental Health with “A Gen Z’s TAKE “

Gen Z’s Take is a student-led organization and its purpose is to create a safe space where the modern youth can educate themselves on prevalent issues occurring in today’s world through reading interviews.

I spoke about my passion for helping others with their mental and physical well-being, how my hobbies have influenced me, the blogs I recommend and a few of my personal icons are and my advice for those who may be struggling.

It’s All In The Mind

-Shriya Biswas

Please keep on reading & let me know your feedback.

1. It’s lovely to speak with you, Shriya! You are a blogger and writer (Girl With Dreamy Eyes) https://girlwithdreamyeyes.com/ from Kolkata, India. Why did you start your blog and what topics does it cover?
Hi, same here! I started my blog to reach millions of people who use the internet and give them an idea about my life and other than that I also started it to build rapport with people and learn new things and through writing, I get an idea about what people like to read and it has helped me to stretch my creativity. I usually write about movie and book reviews, travel, food reviews, and personal experiences.

2. In reaching out to us, you’d said, “I have an intense enthusiasm about uplifting others [as well as] mental and physical health.” How do you help others with their well-being? Do you have any go-to advice for those who may be struggling?
I firmly believe in the sentence “ Now or never”. I feel that if we do not help others and motivate them to gain a perspective in life NOW, we will continue to stay in the same place. I have helped various people, mostly my classmates during their grievances and academic problems. I have offered my time to them, heard their problems and most importantly offered kindness more proactively. In the hullabaloo of today’s world, people require a little time and compassion from others and I have made sure that whenever I am helping a fellow person, I try to connect with them and make them feel better about themselves by highlighting their achievements and helping them to be active. My go-to advice for someone who is struggling will be to “always be on the run”, as when your mind is occupied you will always be motivated to better your life. It’s all in the mind, and I believe that if you can conquer your fears from within you will be able to move forward.

3. Which blogs besides your own do you recommend? 
The blogs that I recommend are: 
https://cupofjo.com/
https://advicefromatwentysomething.com/about/

4. How have your passions and hobbies such as photography, Model-UN, theatre and horseback riding influenced you?
My diverse extracurricular activities have played a crucial role in my school years, made me a self-reliant and determined individual and a more well-rounded individual, and helped me improve my communication and organisation skills.

5. Who is your main support system? Who are your personal icons and role models?
The main support system in my life is ultimately myself. Even though my family, especially my mother, has played a pivotal role in my life, I believe that it has been me who has always assured myself in the ups and downs of life that I will be able to make it. The role model in my life is Elizabeth Cady Stanton, her fearlessness during the women’s suffrage movement has always amazed me. I aspire to be a changemaker just like her who not only brings a change to the world but also motivates thousands of people to change their perspectives.

6. Is there anything else you’d like to share? I’d love to thank you for speaking with us, and take care!
I enjoyed answering these questions and it is a great pleasure that your organisation considered me for the interview. I wish you all the best!

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4 Ways Why A Community-Based Environment Has More Value Than An Individual-centred Environment.

  • The most effective learning environment for me has always been participatory and community-centred.
    Such an environment helps us to be interactive and bond with our peers.

  • It helps to adapt to knowledge in a creative way that is also inclusive of diverse viewpoints and not only rotelearn from a single person.
  • In such an environment one is not afraid of taking risks and making mistakes as mostimportantly it allows one to be oneself.
  • By being a part of community-based learning that has allows one to improve one’s intrapersonal and interpersonal skills.
  • It motivates one out of one’s comfort zone and has allows him/her to be a better version of themselves. 

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BACK TO “ONLINE SCHOOL” TIPS!

I have always considered the day we got our holidays for a winter vacation to be a “big day” instead of Christmas.  Winter holidays have always been special to me as that is the only time when everyone is officially on a holiday. Since Christmas is one of the few holidays that is celebrated worldwide, everyone gets a chance to be with their family and the holiday mode is turned on for quite a few days. 

However, as we know that all good times come to an end these few paradise-filled days also end with the beginning of the new year. We are again expected to go back to our normal lives- some return to schools or colleges and some go back to the office. 

I personally used to look forward to going back to school as we used to see our friends after a long time levelled up a different kind of excitement in me and all the holiday blues used to disappear. Now, all thanks to the pandemic we have lost that chance also. Thus, the holiday blues do not go in this case but we still have to sit for classes.  

It has almost been more than 2 years that I have been pursuing the online curriculum and below I am sharing some tips that you may find helpful on the first day of online classes cause missing them is not an option, we still require that attendance after-all. 

#TIP 1

Wake Up Early–  Yes, that is at the beginning of the checklist as it is important to be early in order to be in time for class. Most classes start at 7:30 or maximum at 8 am so according to me we must be an hour early.  It helps us to stay stress-free for the rest of the day and also enhances our organizational skills. 

#TIP 2

Have Designated Workplace –  When it comes to tedious hours of classes and work, it is always better to do it in a specific place. It is important to have a learning environment as it gives you the vibe and also gets you in the mood to study.  We get our work done faster if we do it in our specific place as our brain associates with it faster.  We must choose our effective place before online classes begin, it can be anywhere but preferably in a place that has a strong internet connection. 

#TIP 3 

Eliminate Distractions-  All distractions need to be eliminated as it is already easy to be distracted in an online class.  All important or required materials should be with you during class while revising a material, we must work on a routine so that we can give a proper amount of time for each subject.  TV must be turned off and social media should not be used during classes as they are the source of maximum distractions. 

#TIP 4

Take Breaks – Frequent breaks must be taken as it helps us increase our productivity. I usually take about a twenty minutes break, I listen to some soothing music or grab a snack. 

At times when there is a gap between classes for a considerable time, I go for a walk as that helps my mind to be fresh and I can process the information that is being taught in classes more effectively. 

#TIP 5

Be Optimistic – These are tough times and times like these are not predictable but one thing is for sure and that is it will come to an end.  Thus, we should be grateful for what we have and think of the advantages that we have from online learning and last but not least, we must look out for those things that motivate us to grow as an individual and a student. 

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“Pandemic Years – A Students Perspective”

“IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES, IT WAS THE WORST OF TIMES“

Quoting from the book “Tale Of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens”


ONLINE CLASSES AND ALL
More than the pandemic we students are irritated with online classes. Earlier on campus, we had the chance to meet our friends and enjoy the two breaks with them but now that opportunity is not there with us anymore. All we have to do now is stay confined to the four walls of our house and stare at our laptop screens for six hours each day. This is indeed a tedious task for us students! One thing that came to my mind recently is that the hypocrisy that we students have to deal with! Earlier we were always advised by our mentors, institutions, parents to stay away from gadgets and now the same people ask us to stare at the screens and do our online classes properly. We also do not have any option but to do as we are told as after all we need that “attendance”.
These are some of the things that I dislike about online classes but over time I have understood that these are not major issues to get upset about. After all, life is unfair to all and unexpected situations and occurrences are a rule of life. 2 years ago I had never imagined that I will be leading such a sedentary lifestyle and will be missing the best two years of my life. But after all, it is what it is. This has angered me many times also and I have asked myself that Why Me? I get no answer except that we have to accommodate and adjust ourselves keeping the situation in mind.


DEALING WITH THE SITUATION
I was a Class 10 student back in 2020 and was diligently practising topography when I suddenly hear my sister shouting at the top of her lungs and telling “Exams will not happen” in Bengali. Initially, I ignored her and concentrated on my topography as the only thought that I had in my mind at that time was to get a 95% in Geography the next day.
After a while when I saw the news for myself, I realised that she was not lying. A string of negative thoughts started to do rounds in my mind and to add more to my problems, I am a complete overthinker. I finally calmed down when we received the official announcement that the exams will be held later. I was extremely frustrated at this as I had planned my next few months and due to the pandemic and lockdown, everything went haywire.
After I few months, I eventually started to adjust to the “quarantine lifestyle”. I told myself that “just a few months more and then we will be free to live our normal lives again”. But that did not happen, as usual, the lockdown was extended and our exams were cancelled. At that time I felt extremely demotivated as all my hard work went to waste.
However, after a few months of I guess I would say “mourning”, I decided to see the positive side of the situation. I saw the countless efforts of our school trying to make our classes and extracurricular activities interesting for us, the efforts of our teachers including some of them who were not familiar with technology trying their best to teach us. As I always like to believe that every situation has its merits and demerits and the quarantine times allowed us to spend time with ourselves and our loved ones. In the hassle of our monotonous regular lives, we forget to cherish what we have and the pandemic situation surely gave us this opportunity. Beyond human life, there exists a force that regulates everything, I have always believed in that and I feel that the questions to it will always be unanswered. We cannot know everything in one life, can we? We, humans, spend most of our time thinking about the future and I guess that this unknown force decided to give us the chance to cherish our present. It decided to show our power as the human race and how we have the power to defeat something as deadly as the pandemic if we are united. The cooperation from all the countries during the pandemic in finding solutions to combat it has given me the hope that “world peace” is still possible.
Thus, I would conclude by stating that unpredictable things and situations are bound to happen, but we as humans must keep on inspiring and cooperating with each other keeping in mind that “this shall too pass”

Students have the most complicated lives according to me. We are expected to adjust to everything. Why? Are we not expected to lead our lives on our own terms?
As students, we already face a large number of restrictions and those have increased even more now due to the pandemic.

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“Women who leave their jobs are often forced to do so.” Discuss

I came across the above intriguing prompt in Social Media today and I decided to give my opinion on this in few words.
In a world where everyone strives to survive, women face the maximum number of difficulties. The main reason being the unreasonable expectations that our society puts forward for all the women. I have noticed that a woman in our society is manipulated to please others from the beginning of her life, first in her maternal home she is expected to please her family members by getting married to a groom of their choice , after that in her in-laws house she is expected to please those family members by bearing a child and then she is expected to give up her career for the sake of her children. There is never an end to this vicious cycle.
These are some of ways how women are coerced into leaving their jobs in an urban household. In most Indian households, people pretend to be liberal but in real they are a staunch believer of patriarchy. These people indirectly in a passive aggressive way try to prevent women from working. Emotional blackmail plays a significant role here. This creates a virtual pressure on women and gets them thinking about leaving their jobs for the betterment of their families. However at their subconscious mind they know that they can balance both but the emotional pressure from her own family members become a barrier and thus, they end of leaving their jobs.

I strongly believe that women are the most headstrong people and they can achieve what they set their mind to and no one can force her to do anything. However, there exists an emotional aspect in all her decisions and while doing anything she considers the implications of her decisions. Then to add fuel to the fire , there exists people like I mentioned above.
Thus, by stating these facts I emphasise the fact that how indirectly women are forced to leave their jobs.

However, there exist another type of women who simply bow down to what they are told. I consider these women to be staunch believers of patriarchy too, it is because they are letting it prevail. I simply do not understand that how these women , some of them being well educated let other people force them to sacrifice their career.
Thus I would like to conclude by saying that ,it is high time that women stand up for themselves and stop sacrificing their happiness for other people.

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3 Most Influential Gadgets

3 MOST INFLUENTIAL GADGETS
Gadgets are an integral part of our lives. The gadgets we daily use are computers, mobile phones, televisions, etc. Life would have been very tough for us without these gadgets especially in today’s times when everything has been shifted to an online platform.
I being a student can relate to the essence of gadgets as it has increased the accessibility of study materials for me. Other than that digital gadgets reduces time on studying and comprehension processes.
Today, I am going to elaborate upon the 3 most influential gadgets of all time:

1.) Motorola Droid – Motorola is an internet and multimedia based smartphone that used to run Google’s Android operating system. It was launched on November 6, 2009. With an extremely rapid battery charging, the smartphone can charge 60% in 30 minutes. Other than that, it has excellent camera features with high density and pixel resolution and supports almost all connectivity like Bluetooth and WiFi. This indeed came like a blessing to people in 2009 and it is still used by some people till date.
It’s estimated price is 36,00 INR.

2.) Iphone- Iphone was a gadget that changed the world overnight . The craze of buying an iphone is still there almost after 14 years of its launch.
Keeping aside the craze , the iphone really stands out in some aspects the main one being that it provides extreme security. If the phone is lost , it takes a super skilled hacker to open it , thus with such high security Iphone does hold an influential position among people. The other advantages of Iphone over other phones are its resale value is always high and payments are more convenient and can be done using Apple Pay. Iphones also have a family sharing feature which enables a full family to share purchases.
These features have made Iphone one of the most used phones in the world.

3.) VCR- Before Netflix and Amazon Prime , people had a much innovative thing and that was VCR “Videotape cassette ” . VCR was an extremely popular gadget in the early 2000’s. It basically invented the idea of ” home theatre” . My parents have often told me about the thrill of finishing the exams in college and then going to a shop to rent a VCR and the getting to know that , their favourite movie has been rented already. VCR cassettes are still used by some families. Through VCR people have watched over a million of movies over the past few decades.

Thus, according to me these 3 are the change-makers when electronic gadgets are considered.

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REVIEW TIME- KISSING BOOTH 3!

WHY? WHY? I was literally shouting after I finished watching the third sequel of the Kissing Booth series which premiered today at 12 PM IST on Netflix. But anyways I calmed down after a while and thought that what can I do, it’s just a movie after all.

I will not say that I really loved the movie like the previous two sequels but I really liked the character growth of the main characters and how they figured out their priorities and that is what  I am going to bring forward in this article today.

The movie started off well with the core four spending their last summer in Flynn’s summerhouse with the harsh fact that the house is going to be sold in a few days.  All of them vow to make their last summer memorable but does anything in a teenager’s life go as expected? No! Thus, then we see the up’s and downs of their lives.

I will first start with Elle,  according to me she was extremely confused in this sequel.  Like man come on 1 month left and you haven’t chosen which college you will finally go to? Please, that’s so unrealistic.  She’s got accepted to both Harvard and UC Berkeley, still, she can’t make a choice. For a minute I was like come on Elle, you’ve got to be smarter than this, just like figure out your priorities, girl.  I do understand her dilemma, but it is her life, and no one should decide anything for her and in a pressure of pleasing the people around her she should not end up making a choice which she will regret later.

In the second sequel, we did not see much development in Chole’s character. But I was relieved to see that she also had her own share of problems and needed someone by her side. Otherwise, in the second film and a great chunk in the third film instead of a girl in her early twenties she was more like Elle and Noah’s therapist who was guiding them with their relationship.  For some time, I really forgot that Chole was Noah’s friend and not a thirty-year-old adult, no offence to people who are her fans!>.

As for the boys, Lee and Noah both at times were unreasonable. They did not probably understand that their anticipation and excitement confused Elle more. However, they were not wrong as both of them wanted Elle around them. But after all, Elle has to figure out her own priorities.

As for the good parts, I really liked the activities on the bucket list.  Too much fun it was and while seeing Elle and Lee doing them, I could not help but imagine myself in Elle’s place. The one activity that I really liked was the sundae activity where both Elle and Lee dropped large bowls of sundae on Noah. It looked like they had a lot of fun.  Marco, the new student who was introduced in the second sequel was extra annoying in this sequel. It seemed his sole purpose staying back in Los Angeles was to spoil the last summer of Noah and Elle. But I really appreciated the fact Noah did not retaliate the way we perceived him to, and that I was a great development in Noah’s character.  

Lee and Elle’s friendship were subjected to many tests in the other two sequels, but I think the one in this film was the most heart-breaking.  I was also extremely disappointed in Lee when he accused Elle of giving more importance to Noah, like a random person saying that would not matter but when your best friend says such a thing it hurts a lot indeed.

However, like the other sequel, Elle and Lee do patch up eventually and it felt good to see that Elle finally stopped putting others before herself and explained to Lee that she needed to follow her own dreams. 

 Then comes the most heart-breaking moment when Noah and Elle breakup, and I said earlier that I shouted “why and why” as I wanted them to last! , but practically they made the correct decision. Given the choice between love and career, one should always choose a career as I always say!

This movie was a bittersweet one, it put light on the fact that in the end, we must make tough choices. I will definitely not elaborate anymore cause I think I was given a lot of spoilers.

But yes, I would want one thing that Elle got and that is to get accepted to both Stanford and Harvard University.

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JULY- THE CRAZY MONTH!

Sometimes we end up doing things that we never expected. In the month of July 2021, I did end up doing a few things which seemed impossible to me till the last moment. 

Model United Nations i.e. MUN was an extremely complicated thing to me till the month of June. However, I still decided to give it a try. I tried out my first MUN in the end of June,  but I remained confused about some facts. I decided not to give up until I learnt everything about MUN’s.  

I took part in my second MUN which was the CISMUN organized by the Calcutta International School, Kolkata.  I was a part of the IPC Committee and represented American television program host, Rachel Maddow. I felt that it was one of the most cooperative committee with minimal arguments and disputes. Although we had to cover committees of the conference and submit our reviews by 9pm, it did become a bit tiring, but I enjoyed it to the fullest. While covering various committees in the three-day MUN, I learnt in depth about the issues that they were covering. I got to know about the South China Sea issue and the various roles played by the countries in the dispute, the treatment of refugees in various countries and the responses of the other countries. The IPC Committee also conducted a press conference where the delegates of the IPC  committee had to ask questions to the delegates of the committee that they had covered. Questions had to be asked based on the delegates speech in the moderated caucus or GSL (General Speaker’s List).  We then had to submit a feature, and 2 opinion-based articles and while writing it gave me a new insight about a lot of things . Our IPC Committee also had a debate on the agenda “Freedom Of Press” , I personally loved being a part of it and really enjoyed the heated discussion that took place between all the delegates. After a three-day tedious and fun committee, I bagged a special mention in my committee and that sure motivated me to continue MUN’S for rest of the month.

Next, I represented my school , Modern High School For Girls at the JACO MUN organised by the St James School , Kolkata.  I had a slight disadvantage in this MUN as I did not get allotted to the committee I preferred and got a short span of time to prepare. However, that was not really a problem as I aimed to give my best.  I was allotted to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as the representative of Croatia.  We discussed the trade routes facilitating drugs, the drug cartels, dark web, etc.  It was a  9 hour long and competitive committee which also included paperwork 😊 . I gave my best in the committee but some of the other representatives could perform better and thus they placed. I was a bit disappointed but at the same time I also learnt a lot of new things about drugs and its distribution.

After not winning in the JACO MUN , I was a bit disappointed as I mentioned earlier but I decided to fill that up by participating in one last MUN of the month. I came across Team Credencia which is based in Delhi. They organised there first edition MUN in which I participated in the United Nations Commission For Women Committee as the representative of Germany. We discussed on the agenda of Objectification Of Women. For this MUN I had only forty-eight hours to prepare for the agenda as I faced a committee change. However, the topic was very compatible, and I managed to come up with a good amount of research. This committee also had a good number of competitive delegates but I also did not leave any stone unturned this time and rectified quite a lot of previous mistakes that I made in the last MUN.  I know I might be sounding like a person who is filled with vanity now but I really thought that I gave my best performance in this MUN. I could notice a distinct change in my paperwork skills, debate , lobbying and last but not the least POI’s. We had an intense session about the economic and psychological impact of the objectification of women, the trivialisation of workplace objectification and its role in the entertainment industry and the personal health impact of objectification. All the topics gave me a new outlook to the agenda and I enjoyed every bit of it.  After a 10-hour long session finally, I won the third best delegate award in the committee.  Although , I was delighted on receiving the award but I learnt a lot from this committee as it provided me a new perspective and solutions of the problems we as women face almost regularly.

Thus, I conclude that the month of July was very useful and insightful and it was a total              “ MUN” craze month! I look forward to such months again where I am a part of such resourceful and nerve breaking discussions which require more importance. 

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3 CHARACTERS WHO EVOLVED BEYOND EXPECTATIONS ACCORDING TO ME!

  1. Lucrecia ( LU) Montesinos Hendrich – Lucrecia is one of the main characters of Spanish thriller series “Elite”. She featured in the first three seasons of the series and the role is essayed by Mexican actress and singer,  Danna Paola. Lucrecia initially was never a likeable character; she was a typical rich snob who had no emotions and always used to berate other people. However, what I loved the most about the character is its growth and evolvement. She has shown immense maturity later in the later episodes. She did do a lot of cruel things, but she was also given a lot of pain by the people she loved.  From an arrogant girl to a girl with immense respect for everything was not an easy journey.
Danna Paola as Lucrecia Hendrich

2. Justin Foley– Justin is one of the main characters of the American Teen Drama series “13 Reasons Why”.   The character is essayed by American actor Brandon Flynn.  We can all agree that we developed a bit of discontent towards Justin in the first season for not protecting both Hannah and Jessica. Justin always saw the wrong but was not brave enough to protest it. But he started to protest towards the end of Season 1 and that is when the evolvement of his character began. He always stood up for his friends in difficult times and tried to support them in every possible way. He fought against addiction, abuse and made some great friends and formed some unbreakable bonds throughout the series. I feel that Justin had come a long way from what he was in the beginning and he deserved much better than what he got.

Brandon Flynn as Justin Foley

3. Tully Hart– Tully is the main character of the American Drama Series “Firefly Lane”. Tully Hart is portrayed by American Actress Katherine Heigl and her younger counterparts are portrayed by Alissa Skyovbye. Tully initially was a girl who had a tough exterior and interior. She didn’t have compassion or empathy as she never received her mother’s love and was brought up all alone since her childhood. But as she grew up it’s shown that she was eager to fill in the void of love inside her, she did make a lot of mistakes and took ample wrong decisions but that is what shaped Tully as a character. From not caring for anyone to having the constant fear of losing her only best friend and loved ones brought a new dynamic to her character.  Later on, she realises that even after being so rich and powerful she lacked love and compassion in her life. Tully Hart represents all those people who try to learn from their mistakes and evolve and change as human being only to realise it’s too late.  All we can do now is wait for season 2 to see if Tully has changed completely or not, Will She?

Alissa Skyovbye as Young Tully Hart
Katherine Heigl as Older Tully Hart

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Review: 13 Reasons Why – Season 1 &2

“Thank you for listening, thank you for being a part of my suicide, thank you for standing there and doing nothing while I was dying inside.”   These are the last words of a 17-year-old girl who was mentally disturbed and it was unknown to all, even her closest people.

Mental Health is a very challenging factor in today’s world where millions of people suffer from various mental health problems and it is only noticed when a disaster like a suicide happens.  During the pandemic , the mental health of many people has worsened and I am sure no one even has a closest hunch of it and not even your own ones and that is the sad part and it is very dangerous also. Why does it happen ? It is because we have never known to give mental health any importance. A Broken body part is given so much attention and it can be fixed but a broken soul is not given any attention and it is not easy to fix a broken soul or sometimes it cannot be fixed at all.

Today I am going bring forward a sad yet bittersweet review of a Netflix original series  “ 13 Reasons Why “ which is directed by Brain Yorkey and is based on the book “Thirteen Reasons Why “ by Jay Asher. 

This series talks a about a 17-year-old girl , Hannah Baker who had just shifted to the town and started to attend Liberty High School where she was a subject to rampant bullying after an embarrassing picture of her was leaked in the school groups and then  many events that mentally disturbed her and eventually lead her to take her own life.  It also talks about the various social issues that are faced by the modern youth  like bullying, sexual assault ,drug addiction, alcoholism, homelessness ,etc.

After Hannah’s suicide , Clay Jensen Hannah’s friend and admirer receives  13 cassettes . Inside which Hannah had recorded herself while narrating her painful experiences and it was sent to all 13 people who she held responsible for her death.  Clay becomes obsessed with it and confronts every person in the tape which leads to many fights and violence towards to him.  It is revealed that Hannah had tried to alert people about her mental condition through poems and by saying things like “my life has to stop”. But no one paid any heed as people around her were not aware of mental sickness.  She had been through many traumatic experiences. Her best friend was raped in front of her and she was helpless ,she herself was sexually assaulted , her private thoughts and pictures were posted in social media without her consent. Hannah at a certain point in her cassettes blames Clay as she left her alone and did not confess his feelings to her. 

I would highly recommend people to watch the series as it tackles tough real-world issues . By shedding a light in these difficult topics people who are watching the series will learn about mental health problem  and its consequences.  It talks about the importance of mental health and how to deal with mental problems and triggers that promote suicide. The production house has also provided a support website with crisis numbers for people affected by depression, anxiety and other mental health issues which I think is a very thoughtful initiative.  The series shows that how mental health problems can change a rebellious , jolly girl to suicidal teenager.

The star cast includes Dylan Minnette as Clay Jensen while  Katherine Langford essays the role of Hannah Baker. It also includes Alisha Bose, Brandon Flynn, Miles Heizer,  Justin Prentice in pivotal roles.  It has four seasons and is filmed in the Northern Californian Towns and is produced by Paramount Television.