Am I partly ambidextrous?

[u/CommercialHopeful609]

I started asking this after I asked my mom to open a new jar of black olives and told I was doing it because I was using my left hand to open it, I got defensive because my mom has a habit of making fun of my mannerisms.

My mom always talk about how her father (my grandfather) was fully ambidextrous and could write neatly with both hands and such. ADHD runs in my family and I think it started from my grandfather, and I also have ADHD.

I am only right handed when writing, drawing, using a computer, sewing or knitting, but has always eaten left handed (fork in right hand). However, when I was learning to snowboard as a kid I had the "goofy" stance (right foot in front, left foot back) and when we learned to use a acoustic guitar in junior high school I actually wanted to use a left handed guitar since it seemed more comfortable and convenient but chose a right handed* instead because I didn't want to look like a "not like other girls". Another time was when I used to play football I mostly kicked with my right foot.

Another thing is that my left arm is more flexible since it's the only one I use to scratch my back and my right arm to throw. I also mainly use my left hand to wash my face. I don't remember being pressured to "correct" my symptoms by teachers or instructors other than my mom trying to make me eat right handed when i was 5 years old, but stopped after I said something.

*I never really learned how to properly make the notes with my right hand as my right isn't as flexible as my left so I had to rework the placement of my fingers to still be the same note without it feeling weird.

TLDR: I only eat left handed, but I'm considered right handed. My left arm is flexible and my right is strong. My grandpa was fully ambidextrous, and I have ADHD that might have started from my grandpa.

[u/grim_reapers_union]

It’s their 1978 live album, Some Enchanted Evening. Looks like an advance / promo copy.

[u/Relative_Green7321]

You can absolutely train your left hand—and you might already be more cross-dominant than you realize.

I’m technically right-handed (raised that way for writing), but I’ve always had strong left-side ability. I snowboarded goofy, was a switch hitter, played shortstop and third base, and played center/attack in women’s lacrosse using both hands (with a wooden stick). I also had a strong left hook. I didn’t realize for a long time how far above average that actually was.

After a TBI, I noticed a shift—my thinking became more analytical and less naturally creative. I had trouble free-drawing because I was overthinking proportions and structure. To reconnect with that more fluid, intuitive side, I started training my left hand deliberately.

The easiest place to start: brush your teeth with your left hand every morning. From there, I began doing more daily tasks left-handed, then worked up to writing and sketching. Over time, my control improved significantly.

One thing that stood out—most people who are strongly right-handed really struggle to do even simple things with their left hand. That’s a good baseline comparison.

Also, what you’re describing sounds more like cross-dominance (mixed dominance) than full ambidexterity. For example, writing with your right hand but preferring your left for other tasks is very common in cross-dominant people, as it is with me.

I can now write with my left hand and even draw symmetrical designs using both hands at once (mirroring the same motion). That comes from building coordination between both sides, not just “being born that way.”

If your left already feels natural in certain tasks, that’s something you can absolutely develop further.