Growing up a lefty in a right-handed world.

The first laugh comedian Jerry Seinfeld ever got was for a bit about being left-landed and how society views everything “left” negatively.

“Two Left feet.”
“Left-handed compliment.”
”What are we having for dinner? Leftovers.”
“You go to a party where there is nobody there. “Where did everybody go?” “They left!”

Like most of Seinfeld’s jokes, the bit landed because the story hit close to home.

If you’re part of the 90% of the world’s population who was born right-handed, you didn’t even notice that desk in grammar school that forced us lefties to contort our bodies into pretzels, leaving our hands an ink-filled mess as they dragged across the page.

But if you look around, you will notice: the world is designed for righties.

Right-handed scissors. Can openers. Credit card swipers. Zippers. Ice cream scoopers.

All designed for the right.

Until the late 50s, when my Dad (another fellow lefty) was growing up, it was standard for the Roman Catholic nuns teaching elementary school to change a child’s instinct and proclivity to write with their left hand. Children naturally left-handed were encouraged to use their right hand. Some teachers would go so far as to tie a student’s left hand behind their back to avoid being used.

Even the word left has negative connotations.

• The Latin word “sinistra” means “left,” but somewhere along the way took on meanings of “evil” or “unlucky”. So, if you were left-handed, you were associated with evil.

• China claims that less than one percent of students are left-handed. But if that were true, it would be strange: the global average of lefties comes in at 10%?

• The German word “linkisch” means awkward. The Russian word “levja” is associated with being untrustworthy. If your wife was left-handed in Japan, it could be cited as grounds for divorce.

Now it makes sense how this all happened, right?

Given the word for the direction “right” also means “correct” or “proper”, we lefties had nowhere to go but down.

If you ask my Dad’s teachers, they deny the lefties are evil claim. Although, I imagine they would admit the prejudice against the awkwardness of left-handed writing and the prevalence of “right-handed” tools in the world.

Thankfully, perceptions about lefties have improved.

It’s a good reminder, though, that there will be people who try to fit you into a neat box.

But being different is a gift you are born with — don’t misuse it by trying to fit in.