How Latin Has Helped Me

Learning the Latin language has helped me in many ways often beyond the simple understanding of the language in its historical context.  References to Latin are often used in your everyday lives.  These can be easily seen if you know what to look for.  One example of this occurred a couple years ago when i was quite into the Harry Potter Series.  One connection I was able to identify was the spell lumos.  Lumos is a spell used in the series to emit light from the end of a wand.  This word is derived from the word lux which means light.  

Another time Latin helped me was last year when I was reading the Odyssey.  The Odyssey is a book in which there are many Latin references.  In this book when I heard of the cyclops and sirens I immediately knew what they were referring to.  This was an advantage because it gave me a better understanding of what was going on and gave me a jump on those who did not.  Overall, Latin has helped me to expand my vocabulary and has increased my general knowledge.