By Emily Schilling

You’ve probably heard educators talk about different learning styles. We learn best by engaging our dominant sense, be it sight, sound or touch.

I, however, believe my most evolved senses are taste and smell. Unfortunately, that doesn’t help me when it comes to learning anything. It’s impossible to eat my way to a math problem’s solution or sniff out a poorly constructed sentence. But I can usually surmise the exact spices, flavorings and ingredients used in various dishes. And with my amazing olfactory abilities I’ve been able to correctly determine “what’s for dinner” eight out of 10 times while standing at the other side of a building.

As you can imagine, with my “super power” senses, I’m pretty critical about what I eat and what scents I surround myself with. Perfumes and scented candles must have just the right smell because I definitely notice them.

While perusing online candle purveyors recently, I came across a candle called “Indiana.” It didn’t just feature a drawing of our state on the label; it claimed it actually smelled like Indiana. And what does the Hoosier state smell like? According to Homesick Candles, when you breathe in Indiana air you get a whiff of popped kettle corn, coconut, denim and hay. 

I’m not sure I agree with that (I’m still trying to figure out what denim smells like!), but I do appreciate an attempt to encapsulate Indiana’s uniqueness in a special scent. 

You see, I’ve heard that the sense of smell can trigger memories and emotions, more so than our other senses. If a candle can ensure that we’re never far from our Indiana home, wherever we may actually be, than our noses may be a key to our contentment.

EMILY SCHILLING is editor of Indiana Connection