Latin in My Life
There once was a time in 6th grade where I wasn't doing Latin, but instead Spanish. It was a strange time, as Latin has helped me in so many ways outside of the classroom. Latin has changed my life in many good little ways. So, I thought why not talk about five ways Latin has changed my life.
Music: I listen to a lot of rap and not until recently I learned that several of the songs I really like have Rome and Latin reverences. The main rapper who would reverence these things is Jay-Z. Jay-Z has said in a song called Encore that, "I came, I saw, I conquered. From record sales, to sold out concerts." This line is referring to the classic line of Julius Caesar, where he says Veni, Vidi, Vici. That means I came, I saw, I conquered, and Jay-Z is referring that he is like Julius Caesar, by becoming a huge deal with his followers. Another Jay-Z line comparing himself to Julius Caesar is in the song Run This Town with Rihanna and Kanye West. He says the lines, "You can call me Caesar, in a dark Czar. Please follow the leader."Once again Jay-Z mentions Julius Caesar and this time he is referring that he is a leader like the icon of the Romans. I learned about Caesar during a Latin class where I did a project over him and learned his famous quote. Without knowing it, I would've never noticed the first line in Encore. I always want to know what rap songs are saying for the whole song, so this helps me a lot by knowing Roman history.
English: I have struggled with vocabulary in English my whole life, but recently I have started being able to match English words with Latin words they came from. With this, I can use better words when writing papers and other things. I have also just learned fun facts about English words, such as hippopotamus really means a river horse. I find these things extremely interesting and it helps me understand words better. This has helped me get higher grades on papers and more able to understand more complicated things when reading or listening.
Odyssey: While reading the Odyssey, I have found that Roman history we learned about has come into the book many times. In Latin class, we learned about the Trojan War several times and that is a key part of the book, as the main character, Odysseus, fought in it and was a hero during the battle. We as well learned about the story of Orestes in Latin and it came up in the book. He pretty much did a lot of terrible things, including killing his own mother. By knowing this from Latin class, I have a better understanding of the Odyssey and the little details of the book that many of my classmates didn't realize.
Rome: While on vacation in Italy, I had to go to Rome. It has many key features that have to do with Latin, but my favorite was the Colosseum. Latin as a language didn't help me very much while I was there, but learning about the history of Rome during Latin class helped me point out features of the Colosseum to my parents. My favorite thing that I noticed was the underground part where the gladiators or the animals came from to battle. They had a level system under there to carry the animal for a person up there. Knowing these things from my formal Latin teacher, Mr. Stewart, I was able to give me and my parents the full tour of many places in Rome.
Music: I listen to a lot of rap and not until recently I learned that several of the songs I really like have Rome and Latin reverences. The main rapper who would reverence these things is Jay-Z. Jay-Z has said in a song called Encore that, "I came, I saw, I conquered. From record sales, to sold out concerts." This line is referring to the classic line of Julius Caesar, where he says Veni, Vidi, Vici. That means I came, I saw, I conquered, and Jay-Z is referring that he is like Julius Caesar, by becoming a huge deal with his followers. Another Jay-Z line comparing himself to Julius Caesar is in the song Run This Town with Rihanna and Kanye West. He says the lines, "You can call me Caesar, in a dark Czar. Please follow the leader."Once again Jay-Z mentions Julius Caesar and this time he is referring that he is a leader like the icon of the Romans. I learned about Caesar during a Latin class where I did a project over him and learned his famous quote. Without knowing it, I would've never noticed the first line in Encore. I always want to know what rap songs are saying for the whole song, so this helps me a lot by knowing Roman history.
English: I have struggled with vocabulary in English my whole life, but recently I have started being able to match English words with Latin words they came from. With this, I can use better words when writing papers and other things. I have also just learned fun facts about English words, such as hippopotamus really means a river horse. I find these things extremely interesting and it helps me understand words better. This has helped me get higher grades on papers and more able to understand more complicated things when reading or listening.
Odyssey: While reading the Odyssey, I have found that Roman history we learned about has come into the book many times. In Latin class, we learned about the Trojan War several times and that is a key part of the book, as the main character, Odysseus, fought in it and was a hero during the battle. We as well learned about the story of Orestes in Latin and it came up in the book. He pretty much did a lot of terrible things, including killing his own mother. By knowing this from Latin class, I have a better understanding of the Odyssey and the little details of the book that many of my classmates didn't realize.
Rome: While on vacation in Italy, I had to go to Rome. It has many key features that have to do with Latin, but my favorite was the Colosseum. Latin as a language didn't help me very much while I was there, but learning about the history of Rome during Latin class helped me point out features of the Colosseum to my parents. My favorite thing that I noticed was the underground part where the gladiators or the animals came from to battle. They had a level system under there to carry the animal for a person up there. Knowing these things from my formal Latin teacher, Mr. Stewart, I was able to give me and my parents the full tour of many places in Rome.
Olympics: When I watch the Olympics, I mainly just pay attention to the sports part of it. In the sports part of it, there are many sports that came from Roman sports. Examples that I remember are boxing, racing, and the long jump are from the Romans. As well, I found out in Latin class that the slogan of the Olympics actually means faster, higher, and stronger. I had seen it in Latin and I knew exactly what it meant because of Latin class. Because I knew these things, I could once again point it out to my family so they can have a better understanding like me.
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