Why a single song or scent takes us 20 years back

One song, one scent, one sentence is enough — and suddenly you are no longer here. The mind has an incredible ability to preserve memories through emotion far more strongly than through facts. That is why certain feelings take us back into the past faster than any photograph or piece of information.

Sometimes it is the smell of food, an old song from the car, or the voice of a singer you have not listened to in years. All at once, the people, places, and feelings you thought were lost come back to you.

I think that we in the diaspora feel this more intensely. Because when you are far from the place where you grew up, emotions become more strongly tied to the little things.

That is why concerts in our language have a special energy. Sometimes the first few notes are enough for the whole hall to change. People sing louder, they hug and laugh, and sometimes they even cry.

One song takes us back to that world we may push aside every day as we live fast, between obligations, languages, and different worlds.

That is exactly why culture holds such power. It reminds us of who we were — and who we still are.

— Evica