An essay written in 1969 for Time revealed that any left-handed person who lived in the Middle Ages was at risk of being accused a witch and capable of doing the work of the Devil. My own great-grandfather in 20th century Ireland was even forced to tie his left hand behind his back and write with the superior hand: the right hand. I believe this social taboo surrounding the left hand still exists, and, as a lefty, I experience society’s aversion to the left hand each and every day.
Don’t get me wrong, but pens are a wonderful commodity created by society. They allow you to draw the plans for the next Mona Lisa, write the beginnings of an award-winning novel, and just express yourself in any way you wish (fun fact: Da Vinci was even a lefty. He would probably be annoyed too tbh.).
Writing and drawing are some of my favorite things, but pens are a pain to use. After writing the first draft of the next novel that will shock the world or sketch a breathtaking portrait of your best friend, the ink from the pen will smudge all over the sides of your pens. As you can imagine, my hands are covered every day in different hues of ink because I have to write my notes day after day for my classes.
If you’re a lefty or are best friends for life with a lefty, then you know that #thestruggleisreal with pens. This simple writing utensil that is meant to help people express what fills their minds is an inconvenience for the small population of us that identify as being “lefties.”
The act of sitting in a classroom is a unique experience for all lefties. When I started school at five years old, I discovered that I could not sit at just any desk but at a desk made just for lefties. Even in college, I find myself having to awkwardly get out of my seat in a lecture hall and find another one after realizing I am bumping my elbow into the person sitting next to me as I am writing.
Sports are not even forgiving to us lefties. When I tried my hand at softball as a little kid, I immediately knew I could not hit the ball with the bat in the way which I was instructed (hmm, I wonder how Babe Ruth managed to get so good at baseball…). I even tried volleyball, and the way in which I positioned myself on the court and the hand I used to hit the ball had to be different than everyone else, simply because I’m a lefty.
From pens to sports, many things in this world are not designed for lefties. Even though it can be annoying at times to find ink smudges all over my hands, struggle to find a seat in class, and need more time to learn a sport, being a lefty is what makes me unique from everyone else.
Many celebrities and politicians such as Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey are members of the Left Hand Camp as well, proving how the difference in our dominant hand from 90% of the world population perhaps may be a good luck charm. The world is not always the nicest to us, but I am proud to be a lefty.
