By: Finley Aldred
Have you ever been bothered by the right-handed desks at school? Annoyed at all the writing smudged on your hand? Had trouble using certain equipment like scissors, or can openers? Have you ever been drinking out of a mug and not able to see the design on the front while drinking? Gotten weird looks when you tell people what hand you write with?
These are daily inconveniences that left-handed people such as myself run into while trying to navigate life on the outs.
Only 10% of the world is left-handed which shows that many people do not know what it is like to have challenges doing normal tasks that are much more difficult doing left-handed. But as a “lefty” myself I find myself being inconvenienced at school and items in my household not being accommodated for left-handed usage.
As a kid, I never thought anything of it because my mom was also left handed. You never pay attention to it mainly because all you use your hands for is picking up toys and food. However, once I got into the public school district I began to see the issue of society catering to right- handed people.
All throughout my years there has always been the struggles of desks. Most desks at my school have the chair attached to them by an armrest. That armrest just happens to be on the right-handed side. I find this inconvenient because while the rest of the class has no problem comfortably writing I have to be uncomfortable writing, smudging my paper without an arm rest.
Spiral notebooks are also inconvenient because they are designed for right-handed use. They are often painful because as we write our hands are digging into the metal spiral. In the 20th century the invention of special notebooks for left-handed people were created. However because the consumer population of left-handed people is so low, they are not as commonly available and known to the public.
Another issue is the social aspect of being left-handed. Since it is so rare people are often always surprised and you can be looked at differently because of it. A few of my friends find me unusual or strange for how I manage living left-handed, but trust me it’s not easy or cool. In some cultures it can be seen as having a negative connotation. It can be seen that parents force their kids to write with their right hand because it is seen as more socially acceptable.
Even now I always get surprised when I meet another left-handed person because it is so uncommon. It is nice to be able to have a conversation with someone who is like me and experiences all of the same inconveniences in our day-to-day life.
Being left-handed has given me plenty of frustrations and inconveniences in my life, but I feel like it has also made up a part of who I am as an individual. It makes me feel unique and it is always a conversation starter.
To all the left-handed people, just know you are not alone in the annoyance of daily life. There is a community of people who share the same experiences as us.
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