Although the left-handed population only comprises about 10 percent of the entire world, they have produced an innumerable amount of well-known and influential people throughout history. Ranging from Leonardo da Vinci to Albert Einstein, Henry Ford to Jimi Hendrix, Bill Gates to Barack Obama. The list goes on and on and continues to grow throughout our lifetimes.
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A few say that being left-handed is of a sinister sort and a sign of the devil. Others describe it as being a disability or type of mutation. Then there are those, like myself, who couldn’t care less about what your dominant hand happens to be. Unless you’re a lefty, also like myself, who somehow finds an encounter to face every day. Whether it’s swiping your credit card in the grocery store, shaking someone’s hand, or having to continually tell your friends that you can only sit on certain sides of the booth when you go out to eat. At times, they may think you’re just being strict, but in reality, you just want everyone to have a nice meal without continually bumping elbows as you eat your salad.
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In school, it’s a constant struggle of seeing everything you’ve ever written become smudged on your paper with the proof all over your hand. And lets not mention the silent elbow wrestling that is bound to happen for a piece of some sweet armrest with the right-handed person next to you. From being a Florida State student over the past few years, here are some of the things I’ve noticed on campus that unknowingly inconvenient the left-handed student population.
The Turnstiles
Being left-handed can become an issue when the object of your aversion happens to be the turnstiles on campus. Between the Testing Center in UCC and the excess verbal assistance you receive due to unsuccessful attempts at swiping into the Leach and Strozier; lefties seem to have magnified complications. Although turnstiles are pretty much housed at all major locations on campus outside of the classroom, they seem to be more accommodating for the use of the right hand.
The Computers
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Forget familiarity if you happen to have an exam at the aforementioned Testing Center or are trying to finish a paper in one of FSUs many computer labs. All computer mouses and number pads accompanied on the keyboards are usually catered to the right-hand side. Depending on the environment and set-up of the desktop, some of these computer features cannot be changed for left-handed composition. Meaning that more often than not, you have to awkwardly cross your left arm over your body in order for any work to be completed.
The Classroom Desks
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Not only are desks already incredibly small in college, it can be harder to take notes in class if you can’t find the desk that is meant to be yours (at least for the semester). The options are few and far between, with left-handed desks already being taken by someone else or plainly non-existent in the classroom. Say goodbye to your sanity and hello to a twisted back and holding up your arm to write for the next 50 minutes.
The Tomahawk Chop
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One of the most well-known and iconic traditions in Florida State history is the Tomahawk Chop. For one reason or another, the Chop was executed by using the right hand and arm, and has been this way ever since. I have learned from experience since freshman year that if you perform the Chop with anything other than the right hand (i.e. your left), you honestly just end up looking like a fool.
All of these left-handed campus “hardships” could naturally be avoided if I resulted like the majority of the population and my right hand were the dominant. But due to the irony and unpredictable nature of life itself, this is not the case for myself and many other Seminoles. I’ve spent the entirety of my existence adjusting to a right-handed world, and I feel that it is too late in the game of life to change it now. Besides, I would never want to miss a day where someone clearly sees me writing and has the rashness to ask: “You’re left-handed?!? How do you write like that?”
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