Selena Gomez has been out of rehab for just over two months now, and she’s been an absolute inspiration.
Well, she’s always been an absolute inspiration, but you know what we mean.
Ever since she left her treatment center, she’s been ever more open and honest about the issues she’s faced with her mental health, and how important it is for people to take care of and to love themselves.
And it’s been such a delight to see.
These days, Selena is focused on promoting a Netflix series she executive-produced called 13 Reasons Why, based on the novel of the same name. The show debuts next month.
The book, written by Jay Asher, is about a teenager who killed herself and left a series of tapes explaining why — the thirteen reasons she did it, it turns out, were thirteen people who’d hurt her in some way.
And in this new interview, Selena is explaining exactly why the subject matter hit home for her.
“Whether I like it or not,” she said, “a lot of people have watched me grow up, and I do feel like, I have these conversations with my fans.”
“I’ve never really wanted to be the kind of unapproachable person.”
And so, she continued, “Whether I like it or not, people have seen a lot of my mistakes and I had to use that as a good thing, because then they’re able to trust me.”
“I want to be a part of this,” she said, “because I think this is what they want, this is what they need.”
She thinks a series like this is especially what young people need these days because “We’re just so disconnected from people now. Teens just really want [that connection].”
“I can’t stand what they’re looking at and what they think is reality,” she went on, referencing social media. “There are 17-year-olds that look older than me and that freaks me out.”
Another reason Selena connected with the project what that, as she says, “I think that my own high school experience was amplified. I wouldn’t say it was worse, but it made it harder.”
She’s talking, of course, about the “high school experience” she had while working on the Disney show Wizards of Waverly Place.
“Whether it was just kids or growing up in the biggest high school in the world, which was the Disney Channel, it was also adults that had the audacity to kind of tell me how I should live my life,” she said.
“It was very confusing for me. I had no idea what I was going to be, what I’m still going to become.”
And finally, Selena had one more reason for believing in the show — her time in rehab.
“To be frank with you,” she explained, “I actually was going through a really difficult time when they started production.”
“I went away for 90 days, and I actually met a ton of kids in this place that were talking about issues that these characters are experiencing.”
We’re so glad that Selena is dedicating her time and talent to something that means so much to her.
And, to hear her tell it, it really means so very, very much.
“I was there for the last episode,” she recalled. “I was a mess just seeing it all come to life, because I’ve experienced just that for sure. It hits a very important part of me.”
Oh, what a gift this girl is.