Growing Up Left Handed

Yesterday, 13th August was the Left Handers' Day.

It wasn't fun going up lefthanded. I remember how my parents would mock me for not using the 'right' hand to eat. And how I was regularly penalised by my aunt (with whom I live with till 15) for being a left-hander.

At school, it wasn't much fun either. Copying notes during lectures is a torture, as being a left-hander means I've to grip the pen in an awkward position... and constantly smudging what I write. If you are left-handed, be prepared to think fast - because during exams, you are bound to write answers slower than the rest, and have a less legible hand-writing as a result. Art class was a torture too: because of the awkward way I grip brushes, I could never paint my colours accurately.

Even till today, I find it awkward during meals, as I would constantly knock the hand of whoever sits on my left, since more likely than not, he/she would be using the right hand.

I remembered the first time I used a subway. I put the card into the left slot only to realise that it opens the gate to my left!

I've never complained about my left-handed though. Being left-handed helped - I represented my school in fencing when I was young, not because I was particularly good, but because being left-handed gave me clear advantage in a melee.

Being a left-hander means you are disadvantaged to in many aspects: most tools and equipment are made for right-handers. It is interesting to note therefore, that in almost all fields, left-handers excel:

• In football, both Maradona and Pele are left-handers.
• In science: Einstein, Aristotle and Newton. 
• In music: Beethoven and Mozart.
• In arts: Leonardo da Vince, Raphael, Michelangelo
• In politics: Obama, Cameron (UK's new PM), Bill Clinton, Ghandi, and even Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Napoleon, 
• In entertainment: Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Keanu Reeves, Oprah Winfrey, Lady Gaga, Julia Roberts, Marilyn Monroe and many more. 
• In business: Bill Gates, Henry Ford, Rockefeller and too many to list.

Even the world's most wanted man: Osama bin Laden is left-handed.

So, being left-handed isn't that bad after all. Happy Left Handers' Day!