When I was a kid, we had this massive purple lilac bush in the backyard. I can vaguely remember stepping off the back porch in late Spring and being hit with that immediate, sweet scent, a wall of purple calling me forward. There are a lot of memories of my childhood that linger. But few are as powerful as olfactory memories – one whiff of lilac and I can literally feel the start of summer.
When I’m in full-blown teaching mode, I spend a fair bit of my semester lecturing about sensory biology. About the mechanisms behind how we can see, smell, touch. About the tiny senses that give us insight into the world around us. That alert us of danger. That point us towards things that might get us rewards. And every semester it’s always one of my favorite sections to teach, because it finally starts to feel relatable to my students. Teaching about neurons and neurotransmitters and cellular processes is so microscopic it almost seems unreal. But, understanding how we can run our…
In truth, I’ve always been the kind of person who likes the hustle and bustle. Although I relish my alone time, I have to admit I love the buzz of a busy restaurant or walking around a city thriving with energy. And I’m so much more productive when I have 12 things to do – when there’s just one task on my To Do list, there’s too much room for procrastination.
I know a lot of people have a slight aversion to yellow – for some reason, it’s the dress that’s passed by or the paint color not chosen. I couldn’t disagree more. Yellow is and will forever be my happy color. The day always takes on a sunnier hue when I wear it and this pinstriped party frock in particular is her very own sunburst.