Until I was about 13, the reality that I was left-handed seemed to be a very big deal to the people around me. In elementary school, the fact that I didn’t know how to properly use scissors was delightfully entertaining to my classmates and rather irritating to my teachers. I played softball for a few years, and whenever I stepped up to the plate, it was treated like a novelty. Fortunately for me, the older I got, the less my dominant hand mattered. Now, it’s hardly ever on my mind. The most obvious effect my left-handedness has on my life is that I get ink on my hand whenever I write, which can barely be called an inconvenience. There are still a lot of subtle ways that being left-handed affects my life, things that most people don’t even think about.
According to healthline.com, about 10% of the world’s population is left-handed. This number is large enough that no one bats an eye when they encounter a leftie in the wild, but small enough that it’s still very hard to find tools that were designed with lefties in mind.
For me, one of the biggest impacts is photography. I take pictures both for class and for fun, and I’ve found myself having to adjust how I use my camera because of my left-handedness. All the controls are on the right side, because the manufacturer knew that most people would be holding it with their right hand. Unlike most of my peers, I struggle to take pictures one-handed, because my right hand simply isn’t strong enough to hold the camera steadily and at the correct angle by itself while keeping one finger on the shutter button. Cameras are heavier than they look, after all. Of course, I can always hold it in my left hand, but then my hand is nowhere near any of the controls, so that only works when I’m not actually planning to take any pictures. This might be a small disadvantage, but it still affects my photography.
Another place where I have to adapt is in the kitchen. I love to cook and bake, but most kitchen tools aren’t quite suited for me to use. Any ladle with a spout for pouring ends up spilling awkwardly out of the round side. Can openers are practically impossible. The measurements on measuring cups are often upside down or backwards when held in the left hand. All of these slight inconveniences can easily be worked around, but many small things add up to be more than a little annoying after a while.
Of course, there are the classic leftie problems of the dreaded spiral notebook and ever-present graphite smudges on the backs of our hands, but these don’t bother me as much as the fact that left-handed scissors never seem to actually fit around my fingers, let alone actually work.
Luckily for me, being a leftie isn’t all bad. According to an article by CNN, I have an automatic advantage in sports like tennis, baseball and boxing. While I doubt I’ll be throwing punches or pitching for the major leagues any time soon, I do love tennis, and the fact that my opponents usually aren’t accustomed to playing lefties can give me an upper hand. Lefties are also better multitaskers on average, according to Edinburgh Napier University.
I might be a leftie who was born into a right-handed world, but I’m so used to adapting to the world around me that it hardly ever crosses my mind anymore. Being left-handed comes with its perks and downsides, but it’s still just a small part of what makes me who I am. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
