Cultural census: Write this down
- zdan, CNN iReport producer
I suppose you could call it handwriting but it's more like printing; while I can read it almost nobody else can. Most of the time I use e-mail or send typewritten letters with just a few words to make it more friendly/personal.
This started when I was in the second grade of elementary school. Up until then I was left handed, like my father, but somebody told my mother that left-handled had negative connotations so I had to change. Which I did, sort of, meaning I learned to use my right hand for things my mother could see.
I learned how to print for elementary school and was able to slide through upper grades by doing projects which required making something. I also learned how to eat right handed but never learned how to throw things with my right hand.
As for tools such as hammers, painting brushes, screw drivers, wrenches, etc. I can use both hands equally well which can be a definite advantage. Curiously enough, while I can only use a knife and fork with my right hand, I can use chopsticks with either hand which is a definite advantage eating Chinese style where food is put here and there on the table and you pick up pieces and put them on your rice: being able to use both hands extends my reach.
The most curious is how I learned to take notes in college classes without looking. I myself couldn't read them, but I could make out enough to trigger my memory of what the professor had said which was enough to pass the class.