Scent Memories

Playlist I made for this post:


https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3WGxkB9qFM5sEUxroq4nzj?si=qNXZiTpQSDqtnVoJd1Xixg

I walk into the gym and the smell hits me, and I am overcome by a jarring familiarity. It is sweet and makes me feel warm, and for a brief moment I close my eyes, and breathe in deep through my nose.


Suddenly I am 8 years old again, speeding around that dingy rink in a small Florida town. I can see it all, how grimy and dark it is, how the air was thick with sweat and old shoes. And I can see how beautiful it looked illuminated by those cheap neon lights.


Every Sunday I had classes there in the under bright fluorescents that buzzed in the background of each rollerskating. I loved roller skating, I was all about it, career choice #1 from the ages of 7-9 (besides boxer, or artist, or architect, of course. I like to keep my options open!) and the rink had become my classroom.


But Friday nights were a whole different story. Fridays and Saturdays were when the rink would be booming, every preteen (and sometimes even actual teenagers) would be there, mostly not skating, but instead choosing to gossip by the food area, screeching secrets over Rihanna's “Please Don’t Stop The Music”. I was only allowed to go because of my absolute obsession with roller skating, and the fact that my sister is 4 years older than me, making her 12 giving me the excuse of saying that Gabby would have fun too (she did most of the time! Though she also just watched me make rounds a lot too…)


Anyway.


Me.


The Roller Rink.


Sean Kingston's “Take You There” pumping through my veins.


And honestly, I tore that shit up.


There was nothing like it, it was incomparable, it was once of my purest joys of childhood. The feeling of zooming between crowds, singing at the top of my lungs to my favorite music, with no one able to hear it, to judge it and those who did not care one bit. The wind on my face, tickling my nose and whipping my hair wildly as I danced and showed off -- I worked my ass off in that roller skating class and it showed. It was always a moment of life, of escape from the real world and its trials. There was heavenly weightlessness to dancing at top speed, jamming hard to Tie Me Down by New Boyz.


Gyms, and often the people who frequent them, with their lightly lingering scent of sweat and forgotten snacks covered by cheap perfume always send me back, just for a second, and I remember how truly fun those moments were. The excitement, the happiness, the passion was absolutely genuine and unhindered, and it never fails to make me smile to think about such joy. These little scent gifts are often a surprise, where I just smell something that sends me back to a random moment of my life, often one that I had forgotten, or not thought about in a while.


I always find myself so taken aback that I am able to have such vivid recollection of an experience just from a passing fragranced breeze. It feels so suddenly intimate, I don’t consider myself as someone who relies on their nose that much. Don't get me wrong, I have a good nose, but living in the city and an apartment that currently has 3 people and 5 fuzzy babies, I have learned to turn my nose off until it absolutely needs to pay attention to something. But these smells stick out not because their source demands attention, but rather because it feels familiar, your brain sends you information that says you might already know this place, it shares this trait, here, remember, remember.


Scent memories fascinated me when we first brought them up in our discussion of how we experience, process, and store information that we perceive from specific senses and how they can be triggered. We talked a lot about how certain smells can affect someone's emotional state, make them want or dislike certain things, and I think that the associations that arise when someone experiences a scent related memory, be it the smell of arroz con frijoles and fresh dry cleaning, gasoline, cologne, fabuloso floor cleaner (are these things that trigger fond scent memories for me? Yes absolutely they’re all great.) they apply the feelings they had toward the thing they are currently interacting with. If you met someone that smelled like something that reminded you of a fond memory or good experience, you are more likely to act warmly to them than if your immediate association is a negative recollection. Your brain picks up patterns and remembers certain traits so that the next time it encounters that characteristic, you have a starting point in your understanding of it. You are able to more easily determine if it is something to worry about, look forward to, or disregard if you have experienced things like it before.


I think scent memories are a survival instinct and blessing in one. Even if I have one that reminds me of something bad, I’m always able to laugh them off and feel a sense of relief that it was just a memory, and that things are good now. They are little pearls of joy hidden throughout the hustle and bustle of my everyday life, reminding me to stop for a moment, close my eyes, breathe in deep through my nose.


What wonderful memories do the smells around you conjure in your mind? What peace and sweet familiar smiles can they bring?





Accompanying Playlist





https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3WGxkB9qFM5sEUxroq4nzj?si=qNXZiTpQSDqtnVoJd1Xixg