“I’ll Give You My Shoulders” by Whitney Easthampton is one of the most saddening, bittersweet pieces I have read in TeenInk. The work made my heart churn and my face contort to an expression of sorrow. It began with the narrator recalling a memory of her and her former lover. The infatuation the narrator felt to her girlfriend was made clearly evident throughout the piece, making the ending and events occurring in the story even more heartbreaking. The narrator herself felt hurt when her girlfriend was saddened, showing the close nature of their relationship. Despite the perfect relationship, the narrator felt a sense of paranoia, fearing that she would be caught by her parents or community. She was scared to disappoint her parents and too frightened to speak her mind regarding her sexuality. As a result, the narrator ended up losing the one she loved so much and hurting her former lover in the process. As the piece progresses, the narrator realizes that she should accept her sexuality and is finally ready to accept the love from the girl she once loved, even though it was too late.
  The most bittersweet part in the story was the end, where the narrator says, “ I miss her every single night and every single day… I want to see her again and tell her that I finally have my shoulders ready. She can lean on them and cry for as long as she wants… I want to tell her I’m ready, even though it’s already too late.” Realizing that there is nothing wrong with her sexuality, the narrator yearned for the lost love she once had. She wanted to erase the pain she inflicted on the girl she loved. But she knows that sadly, life only moves forwards, not backwards and it is far too late.