Only 15 percent of the population is left hand dominant, making sense that society favors right handed people. Being a lefty is hard but, in some cases, beneficial.

Sports favor lefties because right handed players have difficulty adjusting to lefty movement. In tennis, for example, players need to react quickly to hit the ball over the net. The right brain hemisphere is responsible for control of the left hand and visual-spatial awareness so lefties have better reaction time.

Also, right handed people are less creative than lefties on average. A study conducted by Dr. Alan Searleman found that lefties have higher IQs and strengthened vocabulary but lack remembrance skills. Another theory is that lefties develop problem solving skills and creativity from adapting to activities designed for righties.

Another benefit is that left handed presidents are favored. Psychologically, people associate the right hand as “good” and the left hand as “bad.” Cameras mirror actions of politicians, so when they are waving with their left hand, it appears as though they are waving with their right.

There are some obvious and not so obvious difficulties. Because left handed people are a minority in schools, they often bump elbows with right handed students. When a lefty sits to the right and a righty sits to the left, elbows will bump as each hand moves across the page. The only resolutions are to move the arms and paper further away from each other, spread the tables apart or ask the teacher to trade seats.

There’s also the dominance of right handed made tools. Everything from scissors, mouses, baseball mitts and golf clubs might have to be considered for the left handed person, as it can be awkward to use a right handed version. Some lefties do end up using the right handed version with ease, but other times, it’s necessary to have the left handed version.

But, while they can struggle to deal with the right handed world, left handed students still can hold advantages over their peers.