I think I lost my sense of smell in the winter of my freshman year of college. I got really sick. My mom remembers me being sick for over 5-6 weeks. It’s been almost 11 years now that I can’t smell.

But I can still distinctly remember the smell of my mom’s perfume. She wears a fragrance called Summer Hill by Crabtree & Evelyn. It smells so good.

Describing it is hard for me. I think my scent vocabulary is really lacking and finding the words to describe how things smell is hard. Especially when you can’t refer to it now.

But from what I remember, it’s a very flowery smell. I remember the smell of lilac and freesia. It was a light scent, not heavy at all. It definitely smelled like flowers.

That smell makes me feel very comforted. The memory of it has a positive connotation. It’s very comforting. It smelled delicious. It’s just soooo nice.

I’m very grateful because I have a really close relationship with my mom. She’s always been one of my closest friends as well as being my mom. The smell of the fragrance, it reminds me of her. And that’s comforting to me. That’s safety.

If the scent had a sound, what would it be? I imagine being in a nice outdoor space, with grass and lots of sunshine. You hear a light breeze. Almost like blowing grass; like a whisper.

If the scent had a color, what would it be? Sky blue.

If the scent had a texture, what would it be? A soft, fuzzy fleece blanket.

If the scent could give you advice, what would it tell you? Be calm. My mom always tells me to be calm, so since I associate the scent with her, to me that’s the advice the scent gives too.

Since you can’t turn to scent if you wanted to feel calm, what would you go to instead? I think it would be sound. In this case the lack of sound. I like quiet and solitude. A quiet space where I can read or listen to podcasts. If I do have sound, it would have to be familiar. I’ll re-listen to podcasts I’ve enjoyed and that will make me feel calm.