The weather in Charlottesville has been warm and absolutely beautiful for the past few days, so when I woke up this morning, I donned 2012's first shorts and hastily smoothed on some lotion with sunscreen in it. Then I went to work.

It wasn't until several hours later that I realized how much I smelled like summer.

Sure, different smells can arouse all sorts of memories. And sure, sunscreen smells like summer. But I was startled by how very specific my thoughts and memories were.

I thought of grad school--those six weeks starting in July, and Men, Women, and Dragons: Gender and Identity in Fantasy for Children, which was from 9AM-12PM every Monday and Wednesday in that freezing room in the art building. I thought about quick Starbucks runs for dirty iced chais by myself on those same days before my History & Criticism class. I thought of that apartment with the brick walls and the cold shiny floors. I thought about Roanoke, last summer. All this, because of some sunscreen.

It's the way that filling my car with gasoline doesn't do anything to me, but the way the smell of gasoline from someone else's car when I'm sitting in traffic on a hot day reminds me of summer afternoons spent in the sun, in a boat, on the lake.

It makes me wonder what smells will hit me in the years to come, reminding me of this current season of life.

I know that it's a little early to be fantasizing about summer. But spring has definitely sprung, and that's something.

Which scents take you back?

I went to Longwood on Wednesday.

My brother Sean is still there, and it's only an hour away from Charlottesville, so when I have the afternoon free, I like to go spend the day there. This time I got to catch up with one of my favorite professors and meet with my thesis advisor who, luckily enough for me, teaches at both Longwood and Hollins. And of course, I got to spend some time with Sean.

I learned two things on Wednesday.

From my advisor: I'm a lot further along with my thesis than I thought I was.

From my old professor: I don't have to know what I'm doing with my life just because I'm in grad school.

You just have to keep doing what you're doing and let what's supposed to happen, happen.

So I got some tea and sat down to read.

Any time there's a shift in the weather, I find myself longing for my undergraduate life. The way that an afternoon spent in warm sunlight makes my skin smell is enough to send me into a daydreaming spiral of nostalgia. I just want it to be socially acceptable for me to be reading books on a deadline and talking about them in a classroom all the time. And live in a library.

When I was living in Roanoke last year, these days would make me feel so blue. But this past week of warm days has made me really grateful to live so close to the University of Virginia. I just walk around and get some coffee, and when I get home I'm inspired to sit down and work on my thesis. It's been a sunny, happy past few days, and really, my only concern is that I'm going to have to reside in college towns for the rest of my life. We'll see.

My friend Patrick and I spent the afternoon walking from our neighborhood over to The Corner, stopping by The Lawn to let his little dog explore. We ended our walk at Para for iced chai lattes and I learned that they have homemade almond milk! We sat outside and talked for a while.

Goodbye, January.

Sometimes I think I could get used to this.