I have always felt a bit stuck in between worlds, and often attributed it to my immigration to Canada from Hong Kong at age 10. I never felt full belonging either to the Canadian or Chinese world, when all I wanted was to blend in and fit in somewhere.
Now I've come to realize that the immigration issue is probably less significant compared to my left-handedness. This I discovered while reading A Left Handed History of the World by Ed Wright. A fascinating book that features famous lefties in history, including Joan of Arc, Leonardo di Vinci, Queen Victoria, Mark Twain and many more, it briefly describes each person's life and how their unique left traits, such as lateral thinking, being empathetic, experimental and intuitive makes them stand out.
I would've never made the connection that my sense of not belonging comes from being a lefty in a right-handed world, but it makes so much sense to me now. As a preference I've grown up with and thankfully not forced to change, left-handedness feels so natural to me that it never came up as a factor at all, until I read this book.
So I'm really thankful to have come across this book while browsing the bargain section of my local Chapters in May, because it helped to explain my feelings and introduced me to a new community where I do feel a sense of belonging. And it also showed me that it's good to be different, because it adds to the diversity of life. :)
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