Daily Theme 18—My Brother, A Collision of Two Worlds

Match point. I’m standing at the baseline, ready to serve at my opponent. I slam a powerful lefty serve, forcing him off the court. I attack the next ball with a forehand and come up to the net. My opponent, desperate to save the point, lobs the ball up to my backhand—my right side—thinking it was my weak side. Without hesitation, I switch the racket with my right hand. I leap up and smash the ball in the corner to win the match. We walk up to the net for a righty handshake, my opponent’s face shocked.

“Good game.”

Every day, I interact with the world with both hands, and these two lenses have become a symbol of who I am. I am a melting pot of two different cultures. The convergence of two different stories. A collision of two different worlds. My right-handed Sichuanese mom comes from mainland China, and along with her stoic personality, she carries an immigrant “work hard, play later” mentality. My dad is a left-handed, third-generation, American-born Toisanese, and his outlook on parenthood is far different—that a child should enjoy their youth to the fullest. Yet somehow, their two contrasting mindsets found a way to coincide and give birth to me. I am a combination of perspectives that run so deep that they manifest physically. I am ambidextrous, and my two hands represent the two sides of my life.

My right hand is for the pencil. I started learning math with my mom in first grade, sitting at the kitchen counter while she made lunch. Over egg-fried rice, we would tackle workbook problems together until factorization became second nature, and I could sing the quadratic formula.

My left hand is for the racket. It is a reminder of my commitment to grit: when I first started playing tennis, my dad’s American mindset inspired me to follow my own path. I chose to play tennis left-handed as a right-handed person. It would be a tactical advantage since fewer people are used to playing left-handed players. Although it felt more like a burden at first, I continued practicing even when my patience was tested, From the perspective of my brother to forge my own path. I will never forget the feeling of winning my first match.

My ambidexterity is a physical manifestation of two colliding worlds. It has taught me the importance of embracing diverse perspectives and finding a way to make them work together. As I continue to navigate life with both hands, I am grateful for the unique perspective it has given me and the valuable lessons it has taught me along the way.

Daily Theme 18 Revised—My Brother, A Collision of Two Worlds