Being a leftie

I have to admit that yes I am left handed and have been all my life. My parents didn't force me to be right-handed and in some ways being a leftie is a challenge. Have you really looked around and looked at the number of things that are a whole lot easier for someone right-handed to do than they are for a left-handed person.

Here are some examples:

1. Turning a door handle, that is backwards to me.

2. Using a manual can-opener – yes the turning part is on the right side.

3. Using a video camera – controls are for someone using their right hand.

4. Cameras – controls are on the right side.

5. Opening doors – you open the right door which is harder for something that is a leftie.

6. Putting screws into something – they turn backwards (well to me they do).

I am not saying that everything is harder for a leftie but I have to admit that there are challenges that we face almost on a daily basis. I have actually had to invest in a pair of scissors made for a leftie because it was easier to cut fabric with them as opposed to the ones made for right-handed people.

Now one of the biggest challenges that I have faced all of my life is dealing with those rings in a binder or even the coils in a coil notebook. There are always in my way and that can be very frustrating. The way I got around that through school was with I was using a binder I would take the sheets of paper out of the binder at the beginning of the class and take my notes and then put the paper back into the binder at the end of class. As for the coil notebooks if you see me writing you may or may not notice that I am writing from the back of the book forward so that the coil is on the right side of the page when I do most of my writing.

Another thing that I do differently than a lot of people is where my mobile device is on my belt. I wear my mobile device on the left side as it is so much easier to get it out and put it back into it's holster. It is fun to look at people with their devices and sometimes you can actually figure out if they are left or right handed. If you notice that Barack Obama is a leftie and he did wear is mobile device on his left side as well.

There have been a lot of famous lefties in history which is great. Of course there is always going to be challenges for different groups of people and being a leftie is just one of those groups. Next time you try and do something, especially if you are right-handed, do it with your opposite hand and see what it is like.

I always say that being a leftie is OK because I have been able to make my way through all the various challenges and I will continue to do so. I may do things a little differently than most people but that's fine with me because I am me.