Everybody Look to the Left: A Dramatic POV on Being a Leftie in a Right-Handed World || Zenas Agnila

Are you a leftie? Or probably has a friend or sibling who is one? This is a humble account from a proud southpaw and a tribute to the 27-day countdown to Left-Handed People's Day.

---

I found myself entering the surprisingly cool classroom. Ahead of me was a sea of light grey armchairs neatly lined, some empty, some sporting bags and human bodies leaning effortlessly into them as if held into utmost possession by its current owners. I examined the room and scanned it left to right leaving no chair unscrutinised, finding for the one -the odd one out. In a matter of seconds, I had achieved this goal, and there in the middle-left corner of the room lies the greatest treasure I had found that day -a left-handed armchair. I sighed an air of victory at finally having successfully locked in a guarantee to a comfortable writing experience for, at the very least, this one school year.

Studies show that around 10% of the human population are lefties. Which, given that there are 7 billion people, is certainly a lot, but still the crushing minority. And it is often because of this very predicament that the struggles and perils of my fellow southpaws are overlooked in this world of right-handed dominance.

The struggles in question may seem so mundane when sought through the eyes of a thriving rightie, yet scissors, can openers, guitars, writing smudge, spiral notebooks, elbow wars, and of course, prejudiced arm chairs are a few of the long list of obstacles we have to jump over to catch up with the rest of the world, just barely scratching its thick surface.

This is no diss shade to all right-handed people and in no way invalidating any of their experiences, but is rather an open love letter to the system that built this paradigm, and a unique peek at the experience of one who got the short end of the stick in the bucket hat of dexterity.

In the far past (now not so much), parents and teachers alike go out of their way to stop their growing toddler from picking up and scribbling that red Crayola crayon using their little left hands, or worse, retraining their child to using the right one even when they are already so accustomed to being a southpaw, as if being right-handed is the only way to be in this life. Parents and future parents, please do not do this, because forcing natural lefties to go right can result in speech impediments such as stuttering and lisps, as signal transmissions between the left and right hemispheres of the brain are disrupted. Being a leftie is not a disease or an error in the space time Continuum, but is totally, randomly, naturally OK, as ever-so-natural as being right-handed.

The struggles don't stop there. Given the surging number of establishments that pride themselves in pure inclusivity, schools, offices and commercial public places still have a long way ahead of accommodating the subtle, humble needs of the left- handed community.

It is a silent oppression, yet understandably, something not many people even think of considering in an everyday setting. It certainly isn't on par with the bigger problems this world has to offer, yet one that is quietly haunting the lives of them needing to deal with its plethora of adversities, including myself.

There is not a lot to ask, but the bottom line is a plea to make us feel welcome in the corporate world and be acknowledged that these struggles are valid, to let the world embrace this diversity with open arms, with none of the shame or the condemnation the past has made us witness in despair - a beginning of change with small steps toward true inclusivity.

I am still looking forward to that day where it is a universal truth that left handedness in itself is a beautiful uniqueness, and children would not see, or have the community make us feel, that it is a grotesque curse or plague that the world has turned its whole back against. This is but a sob story - an anecdote to the many leftie stories out there left unheard. I just am filled with all the hope that this teetering edifice of dexterous injustice would rebuild itself to have the strongest of pillars with the most accepting of inhabitants.