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The Practicalities and Pit Stops of Being Left-Handed

I have never known what it is like to be anything other than left-handed. Along life’s path I have come across several areas where the practicalities of being left-handed have far out weighed the alternative. I never considered being left-handed to be a handicap, only a learning tool. Learning to use my weaker hand for minor tasks, such as opening doors, leaves my strong hand free for more important things like carrying my baby.

I shared a bedroom with my right-handed sister. There were no problems determining which side of the closet or double dresser I would use. When setting the dinner table, I naturally placed forks on the left side of the plate. While eating I wiped my mouth with my right hand so I could keep the fork in my left.

Being left-handed in a right-hand biased world has encouraged me to be more creative than many of my right-handed compatriots. School was an arena that broadcast my “different-ness” to the other children. One of the pit stops in school was being given only right-handed scissors to use. Most people don’t realize scissors, even the little plastic ones used in kindergarten, are not designed for left-handers. It is difficult to learn to cut along a line you can’t see.

A few years ago I had the misfortune of breaking my left elbow. This great inconvenience gave me the opportunity to see just how ambidextrous I was. Although meals took quite a while to eat, I didn’t go hungry. My biggest challenges were tying my shoes (I had to wear slip-ons) and fastening clothes behind my back. (I went for pull- over-the-head instead of zippers or buttons). Cash became my main method of paying for groceries instead of using plastic. Signing checks and charge receipts was almost impossible. However, I realized I already did most of my driving with my right-hand. The turn signal was about the only thing I had to reach for with the right-hand. A friend said he put his right arm in a sling and tried to drive using just his left hand. He said he just barely get out of his driveway since he couldn’t shift gears, not could he turn on or change the radio (a must for his style of driving).

Most pages on left-handedness begin with an overview of the brain and an explanation that left-hand domination occurs in the right side of the brain. Although I (and you, too, if you are left-handed), will always have the challenge of living in a right-hand biased world, there are many creative and rewarding elements to being the only people in their “right” mind.