With the Powerball pulling a record-setting $1.6 billion last Wednesday, it left most Americans clutching their tickets and watching their televisions in breathless anticipation. As the jackpot grew, more and more people started to convince themselves that they, despite the one in 292 million chance, were going to be the lucky winner.

Throughout these past couple of weeks, nearly everyone has been imagining how drastically their lives would change with that sort of money, coming up with crazy scenarios, and hypothetically living out their wildest dreams.

I was no different. I had three different tickets, and I definitely had my fair share of conversations and fantasies about how I would spend the jackpot if I won.

Throughout the frenzy of buying tickets and waiting for the drawing, I definitely realized some things about different people's desires based on personality and personal choices. And a lot of things that I learned were about myself and my own personal decisions.

If I won the lottery, I really think that I would live my life pretty much exactly the same as I do now and be totally happy with it.

Of course, that doesn't mean I'd never spend any of the money. I'd definitely immediately pay for my college education and the educations of my friends and family members. I'd donate to my favorite charities. I'd buy my dad a nice piece of land for hunting and my mom a beach house somewhere sunny and warm. I'd get myself and my sister nice, dependable cars, travel to some new and exciting places, and then go right back to school, get my degree, get a career, and live a normal life with financial security for myself and my family for generations, as long as I'm smart with my investments.

But aside from my new found wealth, I like to believe that I wouldn't change anything about myself. I would wait for the hype to die down and quietly continue my life as normally as possible.

That's why I think I know I've made the right choices with my life. That's when you know you made the right choices in any life; when you still want to do something, even if you don't need to.

I know I would still go to school, not only because I'd be bored without it but because I truly enjoy and appreciate the education I receive. I would continue to work, volunteer, and be a teacher for the rest of my life. I really love what I have going for me, and I appreciate everything that I have now.

I think that's a pretty good way to live your life and make your decisions about the future. Before you declare your major, volunteer your time somewhere, or make a decision about something long-term, it might be helpful to ask yourself if it's something that you would do, even if you didn't have to—even if you won the lottery.

Simply thinking about the lottery taught me that the best choices are the ones that you make because you truly want to—the ones that you know you would be happy doing, even if you didn't have to.

And even if you didn't win a billion dollars last week, hopefully you got something like this out of the Powerball.