The worry is not that you can change the future, it’s that you can’t predict what large change your small action will make. Be careful, literally anything you do might doom the human race!
Y'know how we view strangers as 'props' in our own story? That's precisely how we are viewed by them. You aren't important in the grand scheme of things so go out there and live the life you want. No one cares. No one is stopping you either
NPCs, then.
People, where their existence in your story is highly contextual, and outside of that they don't exist. The bus driver. The barista. The lady walking down the street. The guy you sometimes see on your way to work, as he has the same commute as you.
Yeah, I think that kind of shows how easily small things affect personal relationships. Something like deciding to go to a party can cause you to meet your spouse, fall in love, and have kids, grandkids, etc.
Big events like starting a war or who ends up in charge of a country would be harder to affect. But yeah, you could easily fuck up a family or cause yourself not to exist.