In the 2010 movie Lottery Ticket, Kevin Carson is a young male who realizes he has a winning lottery ticket. Kevin wins on a holiday weekend, so he has to wait three days before he can cash the ticket. During this time, he faces difficulties trying to avoid opportunistic neighbors, greedy loan sharks, and bullies. He also uses the three days to think about what he wants to do with his 370 million dollars. Quickly, Kevin realizes how people change when they are given the opportunity to receive large amounts of cash. Kevin’s experience with his neighbors influences his decision on what he does with his fortune. He chooses to give back to his community (without giving individual hand-outs) and to start his own business.

If I were fortunate enough to win a twenty million dollar lottery, I’m sure my initial reaction would be shock. Shortly following that would be extreme enthusiasm, since I’ve never had the chance to inherit such a large amount of money. I come from Gary, Indiana, which is a desolate place right outside of Chicago. I grew up very poor, but that’s only something I’d realized later in life. To win a twenty million dollar fortune was nearly every poor person’s dream. It’s the quick fix to poverty, isn’t it? I think so, when put in the right hands.

The first person I would call is Emmanuel Ramirez. Emmanuel has been my best friend for five years, and very recently became my significant other. He knows me inside and out, and I completely trust him with any bit of information. He is someone I would help financially, if he allowed me to. He is currently enrolled in a very expensive school, Pace University, and it would take an enormous burden from his mother and himself. He works hard for all of his success, and he deserves any fortune that comes his way.

Next, I would tell my grandmother. She is such a selfless person, and she’s always going out of her way to help others. As a matter of fact, she’s helping me right now. As a struggling college student, I realized early on that I couldn’t attend school full time, work part-time, raise my daughter, and maintain my own apartment without help. My grandmother took it upon herself to shelter me during my academic career, and care for my small child while I’m in class. For that, I am eternally grateful, and nothing would make me happier than to be able to return the favor.

The last person I would tell this news to is my mother. I am the oldest of five children, so her financial burden is great. She works from eight to fifteen hours a day to be able to pay bills, care for her children, and maintain a household. I would love to be able to take that burden from her, buy her a nice home, and put my brothers and sisters though school. That would eliminate stress and worry, and benefit my entire family. My mother has worked hard for twenty one years to make sure all of her children have the best, and for that, I am also grateful. I wouldn’t have made it this far without her.

After making contributions to my loved ones, I would make plans to set up a trust for my daughter. Her education is extremely important to me, even though she’s still a toddler. If she had tuition and living expenses in an account when she turned eighteen, it would ease the financial burden of school expenses. God forbid something should happen to me, but I would hate for her to struggle.  It would ease my mind about her financial well being in the long run.

Next, I would invest in municipal bonds. The interest rates are low, of course, but it’s a guaranteed way to get a return on investment. It’s not as risky as investing in stocks. I’ve never been a greedy person, so I’m not looking to gain large sums of money in a short period of time. I have the patience to wait a few years to grow my funds. I learned patience and financial intelligence from my best friend, Emmanuel.

Twenty million dollars is more than I would probably see in my lifetime, but it would not last forever. Even if I bought a modest house, reasonable car, made my contributions, set up the trust, and invested in the bonds, I would not have enough. I wouldn’t stop going to school to get my Ph.D.(which is expensive) or stop pursuing my career. There are so many ways I can help in the world: instilling knowledge and values in the young minds of this country and abroad, travelling from state to state to help the homeless and unfortunate, and volunteering to help rebuild destroyed homes and schools here and overseas. Having twenty million would help me to accomplish my dreams.

Some athletes, entertainers, and other public figures squander the money that comes their way due to poor money management and frivolous spending. I’ve heard many rags to riches stories, and a lot of them go back to rags. People who come from nothing don’t understand the importance of saving money, because they’ve never had it. Of course, many of them also buy multi-million dollar mansions, extremely expensive cars, pricey jewelry, and other mundane things. Before they know it, the money is gone.

My happiness would not depend on the lottery winnings. Money does not bring me happiness, my family and friends do. As long as I have my daughter, my best friend, my mothers, brothers, and sisters, I have happiness. The money would help our circumstances, and ease our worries, but are genuinely happy to have each other. So, to answer the question of how long my happiness would last: it is as long as I have the love of the ones I love the most.