Ring Around the Nosey

You know how certain smells can evoke strong emotional reactions?  This is because the human body houses these things called olfactory receptors.  These receptors are directly connected to the limbic system, which controls our emotions.  So, lets say you walk outside in the morning after it's rained and you breath in and get a whiff of the wet grass.  By the time you correctly name the smell, as in, "wet grass," the scent has already been activated in the limbic system and this triggers a stronger emotional response.

In my time alone sometimes I think about the five senses we have as human beings and I try to rate them.  Which one is the most important to me?  Which one can't I live without?  I've ended this self-discussion by coming to the conclusion that sight and hearing are the two most important senses for me.  In their own rights, I cannot distinguish which is more important than the other.  From there, I think I rank smell as third, touch as fourth, and taste as fifth.  I think.  Although, I still argue with myself because taste may be just as important as smell.  Also, I think without touch I would go crazy.  Then again, maybe ranking the senses shouldn't be brought to discussion.  Maybe we take them and understand that each one is as important and valuable as the next.

But anyway, back to olfactory receptors.  Mine must be strong because I associate some smells so strongly with certain sentiments and scenarios (alliteration much?).  For instance, where I work now, with my Ameh Maryam at her flower shop, I work with this woman named Britta.  Britta wears a perfume that caught my attention from the very first day I began to work at the shop.  For the life of me, I couldn't remember how I knew this perfume, but whenever she walked past me I was reminded of Colorado and that feeling I felt when Shannon Saufley came to my house to say goodbye and whispered into my ear, "I'm going to miss you so much," kept flashing through my head.  And then, *BAM* today Britta walked past me and all of a sudden I knew where I knew that perfume.  It was Abercrombie and Fitch's "8" and Katie Rodman began to wear it in the 9th grade.  I used to love how it smelled.  But more than that, it began to remind me of 9th and 10th grade when I used to go over to Sarah Hayes-Davis' house to watch the OC and Katie Rodman would come over looking like she had just walked out of an Abercrombie advertisement, fall down onto the couch next to me, and we would watch Ryan and Marissa's saga and eat sour candy, the smell of her perfume slowly washing over me.

And then there are smells that come and go and I'm left wishing they had lasted longer.  For instance, sometimes, in certain buildings, I'm reminded of the smell of Ramin and Rassah's house.  I don't know how many of you are familiar with that smell, but it's very distinct.  I can't describe it for you either, it is what it is.  And it's another comforting smell for me because a couple years ago I used to love going over to their house, and I always felt very at home there.  I get reminded of going into Rassah's room and each time thinking, "holy crap, and I thought I had a lot of clothes."  Sitting on her bed and sifting through her art.  Or going down to the basement to see a half-naked Ramin dancing in front of his mirror, making that typical, "ints, ints, ints, ints, ints," sound (please tell me you know what I'm talking about).

Scents make me feel nostalgic more than anything else.  Most of the time they are a reminder of what was, and perhaps no longer is.  However, the ones I love the most are those that give me comfort.  The comfort of knowing what they represent and that something beautiful once existed that contained the scent.
Freesia.  Genevieve's old apartment with the awesome basement.  The one she invited all my friends to come and have a sleepover in after the 5th grade Shakespeare play.
Nivea hand cream.  My grandmother.
Zlatan.  Paris.
Nap Champa Incenses.  Camping at Laama Foundation in the summertime with my dad, sister and Genevieve.  Baba and Genevieve would go off and have silent meditation retreats, or go to the sweat lodges, and Salma and I would have to keep ourselves entertained for long periods of time.  Sometimes we would swing on the wooden swing we were always scared was going to break.  Sometimes, we would play four square (we made so many friends that year.  Remember, Sal?).  Other times, we would play 20 Questions for hours on end.  Only, we had an unlimited amount of questions.  And each time it started:
Player 1: Is it a boy?
Player 2: Yes.
Player 1: Is it a girl?
Player 2: No.
Player 1: Is he pushy?
Player 2: Yes.
We never knew where "Is he/she pushy?" came from, but we continue to ask it till this day.  And Sal and I know that there are certain people we have to choose at least one time during the games: Rosie O'Donnell, Celine Dion, and Kate Winslet.  Why?  That's just what we came up with.  My, how we could keep ourselves occupied...


So you see, I'm glad I have a nose to smell with.  I'm glad I can identify smells with these memories, or the feelings with which I associate the memories.  I'm glad that even though there is a deep longing for some of them to return to me, I know I will always have my good ole' olfactory receptors to make sure I never forget them.