The write stuff by a leftie

POLOKWANE – When I was young, I couldn’t understand why people were amused when they saw me do things with my left hand, it was unusual, as most people use their right hands.

When I started school, it was the most difficult time of my life because my teacher used to punish and hit me for using my left hand. She forced me to write with my right hand and that made me hate school until I was moved to another school.

Most teachers believe that a learner should use their right hand, especially when you learn how to write.

Born a lefty, it was difficulty for me to use my write hand, it took me a long time to write my name using my right hand and the words would be skew. I eventually became ambidextrous, the ability to use the right and left hand. Growing up, people appreciated the fact that I was left-handed as they believed that most lefties were very intelligent.

In high school, I was given the name of the famous scientist, Albert Einstein. That made me feel good, being associated with intelligent people. It made me appreciate being a lefty and I was proud. I had fun during sports activities, especially soccer, other defenders would try to mark me on my right side and to their surprise I kicked the ball with my left foot and that made me one of the best players in high school girls soccer.

Both my parents use their right hands, so it’s not genetic; I think it’s a gift from God.