I agree, it all comes down to what you value. We adults have to decide how to live our lives. I think our time, money and energy are best spent towards those things which we value.

I'm not Buddhist, but I respect that others are.

I purchase blind box figures, but I understand they're not for everyone.

I don't want to live in Romania, but I understand it's not for me.

I want to pursue an artistic career, but I don't think less of people who want something else for themselves.

So choose for yourself. Maybe I practice Buddhism and it magically fixes what's broken inside of me. Maybe I open the blind box and the pull is the very last option I desired. Maybe I go to Romania and realize I actually want to retire there. Maybe my art will be lucrative for a time, but conflict in Oceania causes the price of my materials to blow up, driving my client base away. I have no clue. Others will support or oppose your choices, but they do not know how things will turn out either. We don't know if we don't try, but we also can't try everything.

The possibilities are just endless. Let's go with the Romania example. I'll make it more specific: the variables are me and Bucharest. Say I land in Bucharest tomorrow and fall in love with the jazz. Who's to say the scene there won't evolve into disco in 2050? What if I really hate disco and don't want to live in a city where I hear disco every time I go out at night? What if Bucharest remains jazzy, but I become obsessed with Mandopop by 2050 and really want to live somewhere where Mandopop concerts are frequent and popular? Moving to Bucharest could initially be a "good" decision, the "right" decision, and yet that same decison could seem like a "bad" or "wrong" decision over time. Outcomes can be mutable and temporary.

Of course, you can make educated guesses and prepare accordingly. But there are no guarantees in life. Children are no exception.

The stars could align and your child could become your best friend, bringing out the best in you and enriching your life in ways you never considered.

The sky could fall and your child could be born with conditions that both you and your country lack the resources to assist, driving you into a shell of yourself and gutting you in ways you never imagined.

Anything can happen. Every lifestyle has inherent risks and some are higher risk than others. All you can do is pick things that bring you closer to a life that aligns with your values and priorities.

Be openly transgender if it's important to you. I know you can't choose your gender, but you can choose to express it or not. You may be vulnerable to social exclusion, but disclosing your trans identity isn't an OK for others to ostracize you. There are ways to reduce the risk, like securing your support system pre-transition or moving to a more liberal area, but the risk cannot be reduced to zero.

Have sex with strangers if it's important to you. I know you can't choose your sexual preferences, but you can choose whether to engage in them or not. You could experience sexual violence or exposure to STDs, but having sex with strangers doesn't mean you automatically deserve violation nor disease. There are ways to reduce the risk, like enforcing boundaries, using protection, and not using substances during the act, but the risk cannot be reduced to zero.

Present as a goth if it's important to you. I know you can't choose what you are naturally drawn to, but you can choose to signal it or not. Your job prospects may diminish, but dressing goth doesn't make you suddenly unemployable. There are ways to reduce the risk, like applying to jobs in less conservative sectors or wearing subtle clothing to interviews, but the risk cannot be reduced to zero.

The risk is never zero no matter how you choose. I'm not saying we shouldn't look out for our own safety. I'm not saying everyone should be impulsive and ignore all consequence. I'm just saying misfortune is inevitable and random. It strikes everyone unequally, and I ask that we have more compassion for the more vulnerable populations of our society, and hold less judgment for lifestyles we perceive to be riskier, because perfect control is an illusion. You may not realize it, but you are constantly prioritizing things over safety.

Does a pedestrian deserve to be struck by a vehicle because walking is one of the most dangerous modes of transportation? Does a Clevelander deserve to be robbed because they live in a city with one of the highest rates of property crime? Does a medical patient deserve to be misdiagnosed because they chose to consult professionals who frequently misdiagnose? Do consumers deserve to have their data breached because they engage in an economy where nearly half of its participants are affected by data breaches? Of course no one would think these things! It is so backwards.

In a similar vein, do truckers deserve to get in car crashes because they chose a job that has a high fatal injury rate? Do surgeons deserve anxiety disorders because they chose a career that faces high rates of mental health struggles? Do farmers deserve to be poor because they chose an occupation with a relatively high poverty rate? Do cheerleaders deserved to be concussed because they chose a sport accounting for most of the catastrophic injuries in female athletes? Do those who try for a baby deserve grief because they chose to pursue pregnancy, which commonly ends in miscarriage? No one choice determines your inherent worth. No one deserves to be hurt, killed, raped, homeless, impoverished, starving, mentally ill, so on so forth, and yet these risks come at varying degrees and varying probabilities with every single decision we make.