When I graduated from high school at 17, I enlisted in the Coast Guard to avoid being drafted and sent to Viet Nam.
I couldn't know what my draft lottery number would be until after I got out of boot camp - and I really didn't want to go to boot camp.
I figured I could survive boot camp. The odds in SE Asia were a lot worse.
I was right. My number would have been 12.
Overall, I think I've been lucky.