What would you do with my money....?

Good day/night, Steem World!

I'll start by saying that it was a delight to be a part of Steemit Open Mic 63. I submitted an original song and checked steemit incessantly yesterday, waiting for the results.
I squealed with joy when I found out ...I won!

My prize: 120 STEEM.

SBD!! Yes!! Wahoo!!!
Wait.........uh......no, that's STEEM....um, that's...probably great too! .....right?

Of course all prizes are amazing and I'm so thankful to @luzypher for this gift.
But, my point is: I'm new here. And I need a little help understanding what to do with my Steemit earnings. Especially Steem and Steem Power (I've already crypto-cashed out some of my SBD and understand what's going on there, for the most part.)

I've read the Steemit FAQs and I vaguely understand that Steem Power gives my vote more weight. But exactly how does this translate? How much more weight? For how long? Is 'powering up' my STEEM the only option I have? Is there a benefit to letting it sit as it is, in STEEM form?

Maybe you have links, explanations, metaphors, cute cartoons, or anything simplified that could help me get on my feet and prevent me from making a few n00b mistakes. What helped you out the most when you were a minnow like me? What would you do with my STEEM?

It's a little taboo in North American societies to talk openly about earnings and money. That's one of the many reasons Steemit is so rad. Because, that's silly, in my opinion. I'm not bragging or flaunting. We have transactional transparency in this community - and I've got no secrets. I know I can feel comfortable reaching out to my new Steemit family for help and hopefully I'll be able to grab some hands (ahem...*fins?)

I could exhaust your time with more questions, but I'll leave it at that for now. I'm sure there's many who've already written on the subject. Thank you, thank you, Steem angels! I appreciate anyone's help!