Gebbie Hallway

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Sunday morning I had a conversation with my friend and we casually talked about how our days were going. He almost immediately began by telling me of the horrible stench he faced upon walking into the hallway of his building. It was after a long weekend of neighbors and visitors drinking while lounging on the couches outside of his room. He described the smell as "putrid" and went on to describe it as a terrible combination of vomit and lacrosse equipment from the athletic team down the hall.

As he went on to describe this unspeakable smell, his tone was of awe and bitterness. It seemed to have ruin his whole morning despite it having just begun. I was interested in whether it was the fact that it was his own place of living that was partially vandalized that gave him such an emotional reaction, or if the smell itself had resonated and evoked emotion on its own. Nonetheless, if the hallway was a mess but smelt pleasant, I'm sure he would only be mildly irritated. But if the hallway looked normal and still had a disgustingly pungent smell, it would instantly put him in a bad mood. I was intrigued that a poor smell could genuinely change the course of one's mood and even make them angry.

When we were sitting in the dining hall and he was telling me of his morning, he referenced the last time we were sitting in the dining hall. It had smelt like sewer as a result of an issue that week with the plumbing. In this time were using a smell to mark a certain moment we spent together, and I instantly remembered the occasion and the initial reaction evoked from walking into the hall.

As we left, he mentioned that his own dorm room smelt poorly, too, but it was more of a musky smell that was easy to adjust to and almost felt "homey." He claimed that if he were to smell it again in 5 years he would get nostalgic about his time at Wheaton. Although the smell clearly wasn't as strong as that of the hallway, I imagined the positive memories my friend must've had in his dorm that made even a dirty, musky smell feel like home.

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