My Relationship With Smell

For a while, I struggled trying to find a way to get an original take on writing a blog about smell in a food and religion class. I have always identified smell as one of the more important senses but I wasn't sure why. After reading more into Diane Ackerman's Natural History of the Senses, I got the push in the right direction in finding what it was about smell that I appreciated so much. Diane mentions the creation process of perfumes and describes different smells and types of aromas. When explaining the difficulty that one may feel when trying to describe a smell, I discovered my reason for appreciating it so much. Someone may find it difficult to describe a smell to another person because smells are personal. Not only are they individual to the person breathing in the aroma of that smell, but they are individually analyzed to make sense of what that smell means to them. These meanings link to emotions and memories that we form when we bond with others.

The most important connection that I have to my sense of smell is my relationship with others. The smell of my mom's perfume, my grandfather's Cape house, or my boyfriend's sweatshirt are all things that remind me of my close relationship to that individual. Strangers passing by might be able to smell that same scent, but it would never be as strong or mean as much.

The other day when coming back from my grandfather's house after checking the water and heat, my sister came over and hugged me instantly. She told me, "You smell like Papa." It was almost as if she smelt it from a mile away. We immediately got a bit emotional and for someone with a sister who doesn't often like physical touch, it was nice to have a long hug with her that was based on our mutual emotional connection to a scent that seemed so simple. I can describe this moment to someone and they might understand the emotion behind it and may even think of someone in their life that they have an 'emotional scent connection' to. However, they will still not understand the meaning of that smell. They will not know what that house or what my Papa smells like and they will not understand the extent to what it means to us.