The Left Handed in Me...

“The right half of the brain controls the left half of the body. This means that only left handed people are in their right mind.”

Don't breath on my neck please...that was just for fun!

Susan the Wellness Writer just made a post for left handed people. It was quite interesting to know that her post was like a section of my life. I have known her for almost a year now and did not know she too is left handed like me...is it by coincidence that we two share several passions?!

Like Susan my Mom also shielded me from people who might try to force their way on me...being right as the only way to some people. She made sure that in school my teachers would let me do my thing in my own ways. I also should mention the fact that I am not the only one left handed person in the family...my Grandma is...and I have several cousins. Being a left handed in the family is like a badge of honor...they always presume that it is our ticket to academic achievement...success in arts and excellence in almost everything that we do. For the most part I have struggled and made their presumptions accurate...but not all the cousins in the family followed the trend!

I grow up without feeling alienated at all...in fact I never felt different but rather special. Teachers and friends seemed to be in an awe every time they see me write with my left. Some can't seem to accept it...LOL I guess that is because I have also developed and learned to acquire some skills using my right...for instance I play the guitar with my right hand...and just can do with both in some chores such slicing...cutting...sweeping...etc!

One advantage I have though was in sports. I was into Taekwondo as most of you know and though my opponents can't seem to guess if I am left handed or not, they most of the time have a hard time blocking attacks from my left...while I can block their right.

Susan ended the first part of her post by asking people if they are left handed and how it affected them...aside from the other things I have mentioned I would never think of it as something to my disadvantage. The only challenge I had then was sometimes not all classroom have arm desk for left handed people...but no big deal really!

I was trying to make some quick read on the Internet about the topic and found an article about left handed people...though I'd say the article is quite old yet the author wrote something there that is quite unfair for us, and let me quote her first few lines --

Statistics show left-handed people are more likely to be schizophrenic, alcoholic, delinquent, dyslexic, and have Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, as well as mental disabilities. They're also more likely to die young and get into accidents. So if evolutionary theory dictates survival of the fittest, why do lefties still exist?

Wow! What kind of question is that?! I'd love to know Susan's follow-up post on this topic.

I will not answer that, but just as I opened this post with a quote, I would like to end it with the same --

“Left-handers are wired into the artistic half of the brain, which makes them imaginative, creative, surprising, ambiguous, exasperating, stubborn, emotional, witty, obsessive, infuriating, delightful, original, but never, never, dull.”

- James T deKay and Sandy Huffaker from The World’s Greatest Left-Handers: Why Left-Handers are Just Plain Better than Everybody Else

Typing with a left hand,