Smell is arguably the most overlooked of the five senses, but it plays a major role in everyday life.  It tells us about the environment we are in, and it can tell us about Brunswick High School too.  When asked about the fragrance of the school building people found the school itself to smell generally:

“Very gloomy, very gray,”  Emily Whitehurst, junior

“Like cleaner,” Carter Sutton, sophomore

“Sometimes it smells old,” Mr. Tuel, History teacher

These scent notes naturally paint a picture of an older small school. 

This lines up with Brunswick High School (BHS).  Since being built in 1965, there has been much discussion about building a new school. Potentially coming in 2028.  On an individual level, people affect the scent of the school as well. 

Some teachers do create their own worlds of scent in class.  For example Mrs. Graziano, journalism advisor and English teacher, keeps a wide variety of scented lotions available for her students.  As well as English teacher, Mrs. McCord, who keeps a humidifier scented with essential oils in class using scents like lavender and tangerine.  It’s such a small thing but it can make the atmosphere of a classroom go from “convent,” to fresh getaway.

Many students also enjoy wearing perfume.  According to a survey done at BHS, the most common kind of perfume Brunswick students wear is floral scented body sprays, with amber/musk scents coming at a close second.

A senior, Mary Loeffler, shares how much she loves a good smell.

“I love when people walk by me and go oh she smells really good,”  Loeffler said.

Brunswick students care a lot about their hygiene and being viewed as clean, and perfume can be the cherry on top of that laundered ritual.  Giving them that extra boost of confidence needed for the school day. 

To some perfume functions as an olfactory ID and extension of themselves.  They want to stand out or have a signature scent that they enjoy purely for themselves. Sophomore Annabelle Sinder shares why that’s important to her.

“It makes me feel more put together,” Sindler said.

Of course not everyone feels the need to wear perfume to school.  A lot of teachers and students are happy with just a shower and deodorant.  This doesn’t mean that they don’t care about smelling good. 

The reasoning people choose not to wear perfume is very nuanced.  For example, Mr. Johnson, a Brunswick social studies teacher, doesn’t usually wear perfume because he doesn’t like “added chemicals.” But if he’s going to a graduation or close proximity event he does enjoy spritzing some Drakkar Noir.

Ultimately scent is a very nuanced thing that everyone handles differently which is what makes it so memorable. 

Most students will move on from floral body spray when they get older and graduate to a more mature expensive parfum.  Maybe when they catch a whiff of the body spray they used to wear, or the lavender their teacher would defuse in class it will take them back to that place for a second—a little nostalgia scent!