Life is tough when you’re a left-handed girl living in a right-handed world. OK, not really. But here are 10 of the struggles of being a south paw:
Where you sit at the dinner table matters
Growing up with right-handed parents (who simply do not understand the struggle), where I sat at the table always mattered. Sit next to a right-handed person and you’re passive aggressively knocking elbows for the entirety of the meal. Sit on the wrong end of the table, and the same thing occurs. BUT if you sit next to a fellow lefty, you get a glimpse of the normalcy that occurs when you’re ~right-handed.~
Ink gets all over your hand when you write
Not only ink, but pencil lead too. If I finish a class where I took a lot of notes, I guarantee the outside of my left hand will be all smudged up. Right handed people simply don’t have to remember to wash their hands/bring hand sanitizer with them to class.
Scissors, ruled notebooks and binders
OK, seriously though. It is 2015. Can we please make left-handed versions of notebooks and binders readily available so our hands don’t throb/hurt/ache after taking notes?
Two words: can-openers
No mom, you don’t have to worry, my motor skills have developed quite normally, but I simply cannot open the can of black beans because this appliance is trying to force me to use my non-dominant hand. Would I ask you to use your left hand? No.
Sidenote: although left-handed can-openers do exist, these mythical objects are nearly impossible to find. Unless you’re willing to drop $40 on a freaking can-opener.
Some college desks simply will not do
It’s like the education system wants to weed out left-handed people or something.
People often say: "My -insert random relative here- told me that left handed people live -X- years shorter than right handed people."
Oh really?! Your super reliable "statistic" is misleading, because people used to think that using your left hand was the work of the devil (?!?!), so their teachers would force them to use their right hand. So there's simply less data on left-handed people. But nice attempt. A for effort.
As a child, playing sports was difficult
For the two years that I played softball (and yes, I was awful at it. I have zero hand-eye coordination), people would look concerned when I stood on the opposite side of the plate as most of my teammates.
Even worse, because I had to get a left-handed mitt, they didn’t make them in the pretty pink color that I wanted. So I had to settle for an ugly brown one :( It was a big deal for eight-year-old me.
People see me writing with my left hand and are like: “Oh my god! Are you left handed?”
No, I’m not left-handed, I just write coherently with my left hand. YES, I’m left-handed. Would you like an autograph?
People ask: “How do you write like that?”
Just the same as you write with your right hand. Except I wouldn’t ask you that question. What a double standard.
You feel an instant bond with your fellow lefties
They just get you. They understand the struggles, hardships, AND triumphs of being a left-handed person navigating an unfairly right-handed world. Maybe I'm being a tad bit melodramatic...whatever.
Shout out to all my fellow adaptable, resourceful and resilient left-handed friends. You guys rock!P.S. Check out http://www.leftyslefthanded.com/ for all things left-handed. Or better yet, fly down to San Francisco and go to the store yourself!
