Life of a southpaw barber

A personal recount on shaky hands and going solo. What else could get worse?

Han Hamid
3 min readJul 7, 2018

Being a southpaw presents a slight disadvantage in a majority right handed world. Even so for me as I suffered from hand tremor syndrome; involuntary movements on my left fingers, the palm or maybe the hand itself which until now, I do not know.

Lefty is a rebel and shakes every time I use a spoon. He fumbles a lot with the screwdriver. He betrays whenever I extend a warm helping hand. But both Lefty and I shared a common bond by hating on the worst game ever: you know those don’t-touch-the-wire-maze thingy that you often see in an elementary grade science fair? Yep, its impossible for Lefty to complete those without tripping over the alarm. I wondered why someone would come up withe the most despicable game for people with tremors. Lefty offered to gladly sabotage that contraption by screwing up all the wiring with a generous splash of salt water.

Of course, this unfavourable condition has given me countless moments of embarrassment and I always ended up trying to explain myself whenever someone notices or give that wide eyed look.

“Are you nervous? Your hands are shaking. Come on, take it easy.”

Yes, it might sounds trivial to you but words have a way to your heart. In this case, these words took small chunks out of me and debilitate my confidence. I knew that those words has left a significant damage when I took like 1000 times to reconsider before I muster up to learn about barbering.

Sounds like a good idea! -Lefty

Recalling the first day of my program, I had to explain to my trainer on my condition and suggested that I may need a closer supervision as well as a slower learning time. You know, just in case if I accidentally cut someone’s head or took out an ear.

When you’re in the service trade that relies heavily on precision and skill, you know that mastering your tools is of absolute importance. As usual, I fumbled with the scissors and it took me a lot of training just to keep my blades steady with the comb. I recently come to learn that I need a left handed shears where the blades are inverted, but this realisation was after I completed my course.

Fast forward to now.

I’ve nicked a few of my client’s neck, messed up some of my customer’s hair or didn’t turn up on time due to some booking miscommunication. Hopelessness, slumped with dejection and losing sleep are part of the mental challenges it presented. and But all these are part of the lesson to be learnt.

I believe in fate and destiny. As a Muslim, I believe that our paths are written and everything in life happens for a reason. It is how to react to those lessons and what you do about it that determine you. Maktub, the Arabic term for it as I somewhat recall in The Alchemist.

I run a small barbershop which I operated together with a mutual friend, Chubbs. It is a one-chair concept which means I technically work alone. Chubbs, who is also the sole proprietor and the one who make this happen, operates another branch downtown. I am merely a freelancer who have no fixed plans for now.

As to all skills, starting out is always the hardest. You will need to overcome that mental challenge. This is no exception, and there is no learning if you never overcome the difficulties. Looking back, life presents a lot of difficulties for me.

Struggle is not a bad word. Accomplishment is impossible without it.

-John Carlton

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Han Hamid
Han Hamid

Written by Han Hamid

Sharing my observations for mindful living. I love instant ramen and kopi-o.

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