Ever wonder why left-handed people make such a big deal about being left-handed? I mean, they just write with the other hand, it can’t be that difficult. I’m here to tell you that you’re wrong. Being one of the ten percent of people living in a world literally made for the other ninety percent is quite an adventure. Here are a few things that are difficult for lefties:
Eating.
This sounds silly, but it’s true. Whenever I go out to eat with people, I always make sure to sit on the end of the table where my left elbow won’t touch anyone else or sit next to another left-handed person. I literally will awkwardly stand there until everyone else has taken a seat just to make sure that I get an end spot because if I don’t, I will hear “Can you slide over a bit? You keep hitting me with your arm,” the entire meal.
Writing.
Being left-handed means I constantly have the weird smudgy thing on the outside of my left hand. Unlike right-handed people, who pull the pen across the paper and therefore don’t touch any of the newly written words, lefties push the pen, which means that we also drag our hand over the fresh ink. We end up wearing more ink on our hand than we put on the paper and our notebooks are full of half-smudged words that end up being hard to read.
In addition to the weird smudgy thing, I also get imprints on my arm from the spiral of the notebook, which has deterred me from buying spiral-bound notebooks. Taking notes is a constant struggle.
Finding a desk.
“Walk into the class like ‘Where’s the lefty desk?’” is my life motto. Usually, classrooms have one, maybe two, left-handed desks, so if there are more lefties in the class than there are lefty-desks, the Hunger Games ensue. No one wants to spend an entire class period sitting in a desk and twisting themselves all the way to the other side to take smudgy notes on the smallest plank of wood that ever existed. And good luck sitting next to your whole group of friends in that class, since the lefty desks in a lecture hall are ALWAYS positioned on the outside of each row and no one likes sitting on the edge of a lecture hall.
Signing electronic credit card machines.
Those electronic pens are ALWAYS tied to the right side of the machine, which makes signing for your groceries or new pair of Lulu yoga pants an awkward experience. You have to pull the cord across the machine while tangling your hand up in the process so your already messy signature looks like something out of a Jackson Pollock painting.
Using scissors.
A lot of people don’t believe me about this one, but it’s totally true. Normal scissors are really hard for lefties to use because of the direction of the blades. Using your left hand means that you’re actually trying to cut paper with the dull side of the blades, which is why it always ends up being a ragged mess. I splurge on the lefties scissors—aesthetics call for it.
Doing everything backwards.
I do a lot of things opposite from right-handed people. I wear my watch on my right hand (which also means I have to take it off to adjust the time), I wear my belts so that the buckle is on the right, my hair parts on my right side, and I love men’s shirts because the buttons are reversed from women’s shirts, so I’m actually dexterous enough to do them quickly. I also tend to do something to my left side before I do it to my right side. I always messed up the Cha-Cha Slide in elementary school since I went left instead of right ALL THE TIME.
Playing video games.
Have you ever noticed that all of the essential buttons on a game controller are on the right side of the controller? Yeah, it makes it way more difficult to navigate Rainbow Road when you have to use your non-dominant hand.
Driving a stick shift.
I’ve accepted my fate of automatic cars because the prospects of me being able to successfully navigate a stick shift with my right hand seem dismal. Unless I go to England, where I might actually have better luck in that department.
Kitchen appliances.
I have a lot of trouble with numerous kitchen appliances, including can openers, hand mixers, and the glass Pyrex measuring cups. The problem here is that all of them are meant to be held with your left and operated with your right, but I do everything backwards, remember? So I literally can’t open cans unless I use my right hand, while mixing anything with my left hand leads to a big mess. To compensate for not being able to see the numbers on the side of the measuring cup, I usually just set it on the surface, BUT STILL.
Hearing “Oh my goodness, are you left-handed?!” all the time.
Yes, I’m left-handed, you’re quite the keen observer. No, no one tried to get me to switch when I was a kid. Yes, I do feel special because I’ve managed to survive a world that’s pretty much build for everyone but me. Oh, and Obama is left-handed, soooo.
Image Credit: Play Buzz, Buzzfeed, The Odessey, Moreau Time Company, Nick Merrall