The lottery is such a strange thing. Your entire life can change from mere numbers, and furthermore, from luck. Normal luck can make life a bit different, but the luck one needs to win a lottery is so much more than regular luck. It's the kind of luck that will make every single aspect of your life different. Depending on who you are, it can make your life better, or worse.

If I were to win the Powerball, I would definitely reconsider and question my entire life up until now. All the times I stressed out in high school about where I was going to go to college, and what I would end up doing after. All the times I've hunted for and used coupons just to save a dollar at grocery stores. Currently, I stress about where to live while on a budget after college. I worry about whether I have prepared myself enough to save up money, and whether I make the right financial decisions. I worry about whether my resume is as good as I think it should be. All of this would be completely meaningless if I won the jackpot. My thoughts would turn into what I should do with my life post win, and if I should really give up everything I've worked towards.

I would have absolutely no idea what to do. I don't know if I would be excited or overwhelmed. However, I do know that I would choose to stay in college and get my degree, no matter how crazy people might think I am. Through the years I've spent in college, I've realized that I enjoy working. The jobs I want now I would still want, even if I had millions and didn't need to work. I also would not want to leave my friends and all the fun I am having in college behind. I could never imagine leaving it right now, after all the work I've put into it, all the good memories, and how well I've adjusted to it all, even if I didn't need to be here anymore.

So, rather than starting a whole new path and re-starting my life, when I think it is already on a good track, I would put my winnings in the bank. But first, I would donate to charities for third world countries, the homeless, hospitals, research, and other organizations that deserve money the most. If any of my family or friends needed money, I'd be happy to help them. However, I imagine it would be sad to discover which old friends, or even enemies, are suddenly your "friends again" just when you happen to have a lot of money. What would be even worse is if you had to discover that you were suddenly a giant money bag to those you thought were close friends. I imagine this would be an extremely tough perspective of life for anyone who wins the lottery.

And then comes the other hard part: taxes. I honestly believe advertisements for lotteries should show the winning amount after taxes are deducted, because no one ever thinks about that, or knows the ridiculous amount. Whoever won the 1.5 billion has to take out large percents of that over time.

I think it would be incredible to win $10,000, or even $50,000 to $100,000, but I don't know how I would feel about winning such an extreme amount that it put my entire life into perspective. Although I do worry about the future challenges of reality, I feel like I am going in the right direction, and I know it will be worth it one day. I enjoy being able to appreciate the value of things. I truly think it would be amazing to gain millions from having creativity like J.K. Rowling, or having an incredible mind like Bill Gates, but I would feel strange my entire life if I were rich with the knowledge that it was just because I was extremely lucky.

In Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho," Norman Bates says, "You can’t buy happiness but you can buy off unhappiness," and I couldn't agree more. College in particular has taught me that my state of mind, family, and friends, none of which can be bought, make me far happier than any material goods I have ever had.

I also think that if everything I've worked towards in college and if my volunteer work and jobs suddenly had no point and I had no clue what to do, I wouldn't be particularly happy. I can only imagine that a lot of financial and decision making-headaches would come about. Just because someone wins a huge amount of money does not mean they will automatically know how to handle it, or use it. Of course, I can't determine exactly how I would feel, but I do know that I'm fine sticking with what I am doing in life right now. I believe hard work pays off, and becoming financially stable on my own is a goal and accomplishment I want to experience.