The Annoying Realities of Being Left-handed
Being left-handed in a world where the majority uses the other hand can be inconvenient and frustrating. Imagine walking into classroom sleep drunk and realising that there is no left-handed desk for you. Life may seem indifferent to people like you and me, but for them, it is more inclined towards the right-handed. Having a sibling and some close friends who are lefties, I decided to bring out some of the issues that they frequently have to face.
THE UNIVERSAL LOOK
So the scene goes something like this: there is this girl in your class who's been sitting next to you for a while now and she suddenly notices that you are writing with your left hand. Her eyes immediately shoot up to your face. She looks at you with her mouth so wide open that you start wondering whether you are actually starring as the homicidal maniac in a horror movie. Okay, maybe I'm over exaggerating.
"You're left-handed?" she asks with a concoction of shock and curiosity.
You nod and forge a smile. In fact, this is the two hundred and twentieth time someone had asked you that question with a similar expression.
ELBOW BUMPS
You are eating beside your right-handed buddy when your elbows keep bumping onto each other's. The only solution is to keep a distance. However, you can always play elbow wrestling, if that's a thing.
EATING WITH RELATIVES
Especially when you are a Bengali, you aren't allowed to eat bhaat with your left hand. They will remind you how the left hand is used for bodily hygiene you-know-where and some of them may even ask you to suddenly switch to your right hand for everything. So either you need to have ambidextrous superpowers or eat your meal alone at one corner of your bedroom.
REGRETFUL INVOLUNTARY ACTIONS
Going for a handshake with a right-handed person always requires a conscious effort. You have to keep reminding yourself that you need to extend your right hand, not the left, which you might involuntarily do. Imagine extending your left hand while the other person proffers his right. Awkward.
Then, there's always people reminding you that you should not offer anything with the left hand. My leftie friend handed money to a random rickshawpuller one day, and he refused to take it. When asked, he said, "You're giving it with your left hand. It's wrong."
Only when I offered the money using my right hand, he took it. So much for using just a different hand.
INTELLIGENCE TESTING
Because it is widely regarded that lefties are more creative than their right-handed counterparts, people always curious to know your level of intelligence. If your score in that IQ test is nowhere near Einstein's, you will be considered garbage.
Not-so-fun fact: The word "left" derives from the Anglo-Saxon word "lyft", meaning "weak". We now know however, in context, it is not true.
Zarin Rayhana is a self-aggrandizing ambivert who ponders over philosophical epiphanies during rainy evenings and waits for her crush to jump straight out of her favourite novel. Treat her with novel suggestions at ericaavianazarin@gmail.com
Comments