What it's like to instantly become financially free

A few months ago, I received a surprise phone call informing me that a substantial amount of unexpected money was coming my way. Before this moment, I usually only thought about money in the context of “Oof, that’s too expensive,” “Will I be able to pay my credit card off in time?”, “Do I need to beg my parents for more?” or “Damn, I can’t wait until my…