The spells in Harry Potter were one of the first things I recognized as Latin when I started taking it. It definitely got me more interested in Latin. ^_^
I think the main reason I'm taking German is because my favorite artist, Franz Marc, is a German painter. His paintings are beautiful. Most of them concern animals( lots of horses) and the colors he uses are beautiful too.
His favorite painting of mine, "The Large Blue Horses" just happens to have its home at the Walker Art Center, just a few miles from where I live. I saw it when I was a little girl, and I loved it so much that I begged my mom to buy me a poster copy of it. She did, and that was pretty much the point where I started drawing. That picture is my inspiration. ^_^ It inspired my love of horses, and my love of drawing and painting. Here's a URL where you can look at it. Now you can see what I'll probably spend my whole life trying to aspire too.
www.absolutearts.com/artsnews/2001/04/10/28377.html
Here's another of my favorites:
www.allposters.com/galleryc.asp?aid=20439&parentaid=0&item=144626&cat=101372931287