she doesn't understand my vegetarianism... true friend?

Hiya, so I've been a vegetarian since 2009. I've become more serious about it over the years though. What I find annoying, though, is my friend's comments about my vegetarianism. She seems to find it soooo hard to understand. I often blurt out that I love food but then she says 'yeah but you don't eat meat!' And she says that exact same thing if I say that I like McDonald's or indian food. Like what the hell??? Other foods besides meat exist! At McDonald's I love their fries and veggie burgers and I like chickpea and lentil, potato curries. I also feel like I'm a pain in the butt when I'm at her house because a couple of times she's said 'well, you could have dinner with us but you're a vegetarian sooo... that's hard'. And also once we made sushi and I was making a veggie option but she kept on PRESSURING me to eat the fish! Saying 'you've got to be more open minded'. It's like everytime we meet up she never fails to comment in my diet. Sometimes I feel like she doesn't believe that I'm a veggie? That also gets on my nerves. Sorry, had to blurt this out. Does this mean she's not a true friend or is it just a case of ignorance? Xx

Hello! Fellow vegetarian here, for about almost ten years now. Listen, your friend's being inconsiderate here, no doubt about it, and you're right to be unhappy about it - but I don't think that means she's not your friend. She doesn't understand this aspect of you, which is a real shame, but it doesn't invalidate the rest of your relationship. It's possible this indicates a wider lack of respect for you on her part, but I think that's very far from the only explanation. Sometimes people are a bit weird about vegetarianism. Have you told her - I mean, really properly told her - how you don't appreciate the way she acts about this? If you haven't, give it a try. Maybe she just isn't thinking. If you have, and she's continuing on anyway - that sucks a little bit. Sorry. That's just something you'll have to navigate through in your relationship; there's no real one solution for a fairly narrow but nonetheless not insignificant problem like that. Just remember your relationship is much bigger than this one issue.

And stay strong out there, keep riding the meat-free train.

Hiya, so I've been a vegetarian since 2009. I've become more serious about it over the years though. What I find annoying, though, is my friend's comments about my vegetarianism. She seems to find it soooo hard to understand. I often blurt out that I love food but then she says 'yeah but you don't eat meat!' And she says that exact same thing if I say that I like McDonald's or indian food. Like what the hell??? Other foods besides meat exist! At McDonald's I love their fries and veggie burgers and I like chickpea and lentil, potato curries. I also feel like I'm a pain in the butt when I'm at her house because a couple of times she's said 'well, you could have dinner with us but you're a vegetarian sooo... that's hard'. And also once we made sushi and I was making a veggie option but she kept on PRESSURING me to eat the fish! Saying 'you've got to be more open minded'. It's like everytime we meet up she never fails to comment in my diet. Sometimes I feel like she doesn't believe that I'm a veggie? That also gets on my nerves. Sorry, had to blurt this out. Does this mean she's not a true friend or is it just a case of ignorance? Xx

Hiya, so I've been a vegetarian since 2009. I've become more serious about it over the years though. What I find annoying, though, is my friend's comments about my vegetarianism. She seems to find it soooo hard to understand. I often blurt out that I love food but then she says 'yeah but you don't eat meat!' And she says that exact same thing if I say that I like McDonald's or indian food. Like what the hell??? Other foods besides meat exist! At McDonald's I love their fries and veggie burgers and I like chickpea and lentil, potato curries. I also feel like I'm a pain in the butt when I'm at her house because a couple of times she's said 'well, you could have dinner with us but you're a vegetarian sooo... that's hard'. And also once we made sushi and I was making a veggie option but she kept on PRESSURING me to eat the fish! Saying 'you've got to be more open minded'. It's like everytime we meet up she never fails to comment in my diet. Sometimes I feel like she doesn't believe that I'm a veggie? That also gets on my nerves. Sorry, had to blurt this out. Does this mean she's not a true friend or is it just a case of ignorance? Xx