Winning the Olympics, surviving a plane crash, and even getting hit by a meteorite impact all have higher percentage chances of happening to you than becoming a lefty. Statistically, someone has around a 10% chance of being born left handed. The story of left handedness goes way back to the development of humans, as using your left hand could be used to cooperate with each other. In today’s world, being left handed is tied with how it is genetically passed down or how young children learn based on their parents. Even though being left handed doesn’t seem like such a big deal, there is more to the person than meets the hand. 

The birth of lefties is still debated on to this day, but science proves to have the correct answer to this age old question. A baby can be born left handed through something called the C gene. The C gene, or more known as the Chance gene, is what scientists have found in the majority of left handed people. Right handers, however, are born with something called the D gene, but some have also been found with the C gene. How is this so? Well as the Chance gene name provides, it is all by chance. The C gene has a 50-50 chance of creating a right handed baby or a left handed baby. More obscure ideas of left handedness can be brain defects received at birth, an issue of learning at a young age, or just the fact that kids learn how to write from their parents. Whatever the true creation of lefties may be, it is certain that the way they come to be is in a more unique way than righties. 

As a person, the left handers are split between loving and caring, and ruthless and sometimes cocky. Even if they aren’t the best personality wise, in sports is where they shine. In any sport, left handed people are projected to be/play better than their right handed counterparts. Examples could be the dominance of lefty batters in baseball, left handed golfers, and most notably southpaws in boxing. Some lefties learn to use their right hand or leg, as it is easier to learn than trying to imagine their sport backwards.  

“I’m left handed, but I learned to kick and throw with my right,” said Zachary Zheng (10). 

Most notable left-handed athletes are Steve Young, Phil Mickelson, Clayton Kershaw, Manny Pacquiao, and Rafael Nadal. These athletes make up the 10-15% of left handers on the face of the Earth and this is what trademarks their activities. 

The inside of a lefty is different from that of right handed people, as their brains work technically backwards, using the left hemisphere of their brain compared to the right to which mostly everyone uses. Scientifically, the left hemisphere controls the majority of our speaking and writing, so the connections to the arm and mouth work the same yet are wired differently. With this brain wiring, this makes left handed people a bit smarter, creative, and a better leader. Some of the world’s most notable leaders are left handed, such as ex-president Barack Obama, Prince Charles, Prime Minister and British war hero Winston Churchill, and even Emperor Julius Caesar is also depicted as a lefty in the multiple sculptures of him. Even though all great leaders aren’t all lefties, the majority we see and know lead with their left.

Even though being left handed sounds super cool, it comes with drawbacks. Simple everyday activity can be difficult, such as writing or eating. Learning things can be difficult as well, as most are intended for right handed people. 

“I try to play guitar, it’s really impossible because it’s all for right hand and I’m naturally left handed,” Zheng said. 

 Brandon Perez (9) also chimed in on this saying,” I played clarinet, it sucked because it’s not meant for lefties.” 

The most notable issue all left handers share and can all agree on is the difficulty of writing. It isn’t really the ability to write, but when their hand drags across the freshly written lettering. “Especially when I write on a board, I find that my wrist just smears against it,” said Tyler Tsai (12). 

Many learn to adapt to their right handed surroundings rather well, but when it comes to learning unique things created by righties is where the lefties seem not to shine. 

Left handed people are unique in their own ways, whether it be in their academics, their physical activities, or just in the way they act, but there is no debate that they are different. Whether you are a lefty or know someone that is left handed, just know that statistically they will always be “right”.