sense of smell and nostalgia; keeping memories alive

Nostalgia is one of the strongest yet most unpredictable emotions. It comes on so suddenly. Anything could trigger it and it could be so small, like feeling the warmth of sunlight after a cold dark winter, but it will bring you back to another time you once lived. For me, smells are the strongest nostalgia trigger for me. My sense of smell in general is my strongest sense, I never realize how much I enjoy it until I'm sick and congested. The best part about nostalgia is that moments in time that seemed insignificant as they happened become special when you get to briefly experience them once again in a fleeting moment, because who knows when you will get to live it again. Recently, maybe due to the warm weather, I've been in high spirits and along with this comes an immense love and deep appreciation for life. I'm sure many of you are familiar with that feeling, just being high on life and finding everything beautiful and enjoyable, no matter how corny it may seem. With this heightened feeling, I find myself indulging in nostalgia more, not intentionally but I just notice it more. I wanted to share instances of nostalgia for me that are brought on by smells and encourage you to reflect on what brings you back to a moment in time.

-wearing your summer cologne on the first warm day of the spring; all of a sudden, you just got off of work late at night and you're driving home through downtown with the windows open, that old playlist is on and you're looking forward to showering, getting into bed all nice and clean and watching Adventure Time but you also never want the drive to end.

-checking out the exact book from the library that you used to read as a child just to smell it once again; all of a sudden, you're sitting on the floor during quiet reading time, not in this world but completely far away, fighting enemies with fictional friends who you've kept with you all this time. Your present-day character an amalgamation of all their traits you found admirable as a child.

-stopping in your tracks in the street because you caught just for a split second what the cafeteria smelled like in elementary school. You can taste the peanut butter sandwich and feel the slight stickiness of the table, your ribs hurt from laughing so much because you and your friends mixed every ingredient from the lunch line into a sludge and everyone had a taste, you don't have a care in the world because recess is next, and the school is safe and warm.

-when you walk by a vent outside and get a whiff of laundry detergent and all of a sudden, you're playing in the backyard of your childhood home on a spring day, covered in dirt, knees scraped, hands coated with sidewalk chalk, putting together a lemonade stand with the other neighborhood kids at your parents' garage sale.

-getting on the Metra during a rainstorm and all of a sudden, you're sitting in class near the end of the school day; it smells damp, and you can feel the electricity in the air, everyone is looking out the window oohing and ahhing. The teacher has given up trying to maintain our focus and lets us forget about our busy work, the day just got more exciting because this means your mom will pick you up from school instead of having to walk home despite it only being a couple of blocks, but when you're little it feels like a mile.

All images are form me and my siblings childhood.