You know how people say they are visual learners? First of all, I feel like no one says they are anything but visual learners. Second of all, what do you call someone who learns by smells?
I think I fall into that category. I mean sure, I can read a textbook or go to a lecture and learn some stuff too, but if there is a strong smell in the room while I'm reading, I'm way more likely to retain it.
This means that when I walk down the street and pass a coffee shop with just a certain specific smell, I am transported back to Rosslyn, VA where I would sit in Starbucks on my lunch breaks and read. Or when I smell something baking through a window, I can remember the exact feel of walking down the cobblestone streets of Heidelberg, Germany after being berated by my German professor for a 2 hour seminar where I only understand half of the insults that were being thrown around.
Austin does not appreciate my "learning style." He just thinks it involves too much "sniffing around." Literally.
Some memories that get stirred up are bad memories, and some are good. And some are mixed. Every single time I smell the yeasty aroma of bread rising in my kitchen, I remember being very, very unhappy and homesick while unpacking boxes and filling the shelves of our new, shiny, DC apartment. I got to one box that said "KITCHEN" which my mom and dad had helped pack. When I opened it up, their barely used breadmaker was sitting there staring up at me. It was one of those happy/sad moments but it did make me feel not quite so far away. For the rest of my life, when I make bread, I'll remember that box, that kitchen, and that happy/sad feeling.
