My nose
is cursed and I can thank my father. I always had a stronger sense of smell
than most people; I could smell everything, the good, bad, and often, the
worst. It was more of a curse than a blessing, but there were some occasions
when I loved having my super sensitive nose. Like, when I’m in a flower shop or
a bakery it is the best thing ever. Whenever I walk into Fluff on Court Street I
can smell the cookies and cakes baking right down to the ingredients.
Caramelized sugar will taunt me to buy a cookie, and the scent of cinnamon sends
a delightful tingle to the tip of my nose, allowing me to experience the joys
of sweet scent more than anyone else I know. When my nose becomes a curse
however, is pretty much any other time. For example: when someone farts, when I
pass a sewer, when there is rotten food in the fridge, my room last year when I
had a roommate that didn’t shower, when I go to a gym, a heaping basket of
dirty laundry, cat litter, smelly shoes. The list goes on and on. If I were to
list all of them, you may fall asleep before you finish reading. However, one
thing that I have always found useful about my strong nose is that I am able to
tell when people are going to be sick, up to three days before they begin
showing any symptoms. Sometimes, I can even smell when I am going to be sick. I
can smell ashes on the breath of people who are carrying a virus, and I had no
idea what that smell that I have sniffed all of my life was until my dad told
me when I was about 12 years old. He is the only one I know who has the same
talent, and he explained the whole thing to me. “It’s carbon dioxide, Alicia.
People produce more of it when they are sick because they are fighting a virus.
That’s what you smell.” So, basically, I can weird my friends out by letting
them know that they will be sick in the near future. Those who are unaware of
my curse think I am a basket case when I tell them, but then three days later
when they are in bed coughing up a lung and not in class, they think that I am
a witch who practices some sort of black magic. Nope. I’m just a girl with a
really sensitive nose who decided to be nice and give her friends a heads-up.
One thing I kept thinking was: can you let me know the next time I'm sick?? I like the very familiar, easy tone that you take in this piece. One thing that I think would make this better is, instead of listing the bad smells, maybe try to give them descriptions on their own like you did with the good smells? Also, I know this is just on our blogs, but I feel presentation of the essay is a huge thing, and I think this one would really benefit from it being split up into paragraphs. Especially with the quote from your dad! Just some suggestions!
ReplyDeleteWow so this is pretty much the coolest thing ever! I totally agree with Emily, if I am coming down with something, let me know! I think breaking it up into different paragraphs or sections would help. Frankly, I would also focus in more on your super cool ability. As a reader I figured you would be able to smell sewers and garbage more, but I did not think you could smell sickness. Really really cool!
ReplyDeleteThis is very intriguing. I find this fascinating because I really have never heard of an overly-sensitive nose. I can kind of relate to this piece because I have this over heightened sense of reading people's facial expressions. Like the show "Lie to Me", if you have ever seen it. So, I can totally understand wanting to be ignorant to things that most people can't see. I like the fact that you tell your friends they are going to be sick, it's a charming twist to what seemed like previous as a curse. I would love to see you go to Fluff and tell them exactly what's in their food, I think that part of your nose is something really incredible!
ReplyDeleteGood stuff. I think there are possibilities here fir more artistry. So, what about a stark contrast between fluff and sickness?
ReplyDeleteOr, has there been a time when the smell of ashes really worried you?
Meanwhile, you should carry around a bag of Cold-Ease so that when you give people the news you can give them a better chance to fight off their trouble!
Dave