The World According to Lefties

“Life without left-handed people wouldn’t be right.” — C.R. Manske

I interact with the world differently than most. In fact, according to experts, only about 12 percent of the world is like me...left-handed.  

When designers go about creating our modern world, they aim to design for the majority of people. This design bias is everywhere from tools, musical instruments, electronics, watches, and my arch-nemesis, scissors. When everything you interact with is created for someone else, you can feel out of place, like you don’t fit in. I never let this slow me down though, in fact, I embrace it. 

 I’ve heard the argument of well just buy left-handed stuff! The problem is, it’s hard to find them, especially out in the wild. So unless you bring everything with you all the time, you are stuck with rightie stuff. A prime example of this is from my own experience. I play drums, but I play left-handed. Everywhere I play drum sets are set up right-handed which I have to change around, and when this isn’t possible, I have to play right. This takes me outside my comfort zone but ultimately makes me stronger. Not only as a drummer but in life as well. 

So for all the right-handers out there, try using some left-handed stuff and see how you like it! But seriously, we could all benefit from getting out of our comfort zone and trying new things. Not only does this help us grow, but provides us different perspectives. As for lefties, we just get to do that a bit more often.  

Speaking of all those lefties out there, did you know we have a national day all to ourselves? It happens every year on August 13th. Here’s some info on National Left-Handers Day, and some ideas on how you can celebrate.