Have you ever closed your eyes while you are in a bus, a train , a plane or just sitting at home doing nothing, then trying to make your nose work and catch a smell that reminds you of something?  It could remind you of a person, a place, or anything.  Sometimes, you smell something that gives you a nostalgic feeling.  Sometimes too, a scent that reminds you of a beloved one.  And a few times, an aroma of food you loved which is associated with someone so dear to you.  Scents keep our senses awake and make us alert while remembering what was that scent you just smelled.

I love the smell of pine trees.  I had spent my childhood in a mountainous region where pine trees abound.  The scent of pine trees around always filled the air and made my childhood even more meaningful and easy to remember.  When I smell pine trees, my childhood days comes back to me.  I once hopped in an air-conditioned bus that smelt of pine trees.  I closed my eyes and my childhood memories came flashing back.  The smell helped transport my mind in the past.

Scents do remind us with good and bad memories.  Sometimes I shed tears when I smell a very familiar scent related to a sad past.  It really makes me feel the impact of what happened in the past.  The smell of something relevant to a happy past would make me smile even if I am alone.  Pancakes being cooked always reminds me of my grandmother who was a great cook.  She always cooked pancake with mushed ripe bananas.  I couldn't forget how all of us her grandchildren always visited her because of her special banana pancakes.  When I grew older and I cooked banana pancake, it seemed so different from what grandmother cooked for us.  I wanted to believe that what she cooked was the same as mine but to be honest I haven't tasted any pancake that could match that of my grandmother's.

Scents are very important reminders.  When we want to remember something in the past we could associate them with the smell of something.