If you had a one in a billion shot of becoming a billionaire would you get your hopes up? A small fee of two dollars per Powerball ticket, powerball.com mentions is all it took to get our nation to its biggest lottery of $1.4 billion. However, one must think, “is it really worth the hype?” I for one am going to have to say it is not.

It seems as though I was one of the few Americans who did not participate in purchasing a Powerball ticket. I figured, “why am I going to contribute to someone else being rich because my odds are slim to none?”

I realize this is a very negative way to think but even if I did win the Powerball, I am not sure I would want the aftermath that comes attached to the money. 

California Lutheran University’s head athletic trainer Kecia Davis said she thinks that the Powerball is not all it’s cracked up to be either.

“Winning the lottery is not always a good thing for some because people don’t realize what they’re getting themselves into. All of a sudden others always want to beg for money,” Davis said.

I couldn’t agree more.

One of the main reasons why I didn’t want to be a part of this world wide Powerball was due to the fact that I believed I would never be left alone if people actually knew I won. If there was an option to remain anonymous maybe my mind would be more at ease, however, there is not.

You have to think, if you won $1.4 billion you would most likely always have people at your door asking for money trying to get you to donate to their different charities everyday, nonstop. You would probably even have people coming out of the wood works asking for help and most importantly you could even draw the attention of thieves everywhere you went. How could you ever feel safe?

Blogger Kim LaCapri said, social media brain washed the idea to the public that if the winner of the lottery split the money with our nations population of about 300 million, we would all end up with a little over $4 million. This idea swept the nation so much that if I won I honestly would have felt obligated to split it.

Putting my personal situation aside, one must think of the saying, “money is power.” By this you have to realize that anyone over the age of 18 can buy a lottery ticket. Do we really want all that power potentially in the hands of young adults? Money in the hands of the wrong person can truly be dangerous, especially that much money. I don’t think a potential lottery winner who can’t even buy an alcoholic beverage or even rent a car yet is ready for that financial responsibility.

“I think the person who won is most likely going to need financial and mental counseling because it is such a huge thing,” Davis said.

You also have to take into consideration the people who were buying lottery tickets who couldn’t even put food on the table or how fixating on a fantasy like that pulls people away from what’s “realistic.” These are both aspects that show the hype should not be so large and how we should never even let the lottery become that high.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to change your life with a next to free lump sum of money, however, there are also many consequences that one must take into consideration.

Like the saying goes, “nothing in life is free.” Although winning the lottery is pretty much free money, it comes with stress and the loss of yourself. I think people should not put so much into it.

Chelsea Jacoby
Staff Writer
Published February 3rd, 2016