I think it is, like many of you have said, about someone who falls deeply in love when he is young, so he absorbs all the smells and sounds of everything around him and feels things deeply and isn't afraid of the consequences of speaking his feelings even though it eventually harms him. It feels as though that raw and open emotion is both admired and longed for even though it can be destructive. It's hard to see if Alex is yearning for that youthfully honest emotion or sanctioning against it.
I think it is, like many of you have said, about someone who falls deeply in love when he is young, so he absorbs all the smells and sounds of everything around him and feels things deeply and isn't afraid of the consequences of speaking his feelings even though it eventually harms him. It feels as though that raw and open emotion is both admired and longed for even though it can be destructive. It's hard to see if Alex is yearning for that youthfully honest emotion or sanctioning against it.