I've been a vegetarian (more specifically pescitarian, meaning I eat fish but not meat) on and off for about 9 years now, and consistently for the past 3 years. I'm very content with this lifestyle and wouldn't have it any other way, but sometimes, namely when people give me a hard time for not eating meat, it can get exhausting. In light of Thanksgiving coming up this week, as well as the holiday season coming up, I wanted to discuss some of the most annoying things vegetarians hear from our meat eating family and friends (at least in my experience), as these tend to be some of the most annoying times of year for us when it comes to being vegetarian.

1. "You sure you don't want any? It's really good."

Ah yes, I have magically been converted out of my meatless lifestyle just because you've informed me meat tastes good. Not like I've never eaten it before in my life so I can't possibly know how it tastes, right?

No like seriously, I know how meat tastes. Just because it tastes good isn't going to convince me to start eating it again.

2. "I could never be vegetarian. I'd die without meat."

No, you wouldn't. Just because you really like something doesn't mean you'll die without it.

3. "Oh wow, that's crazy! How do you survive?"

I survive because I just don't want to eat meat. It's literally not that hard of a concept to grasp.

4. "Come on, can't you eat meat just this once? It's Thanksgiving/Christmas/(insert various other family-oriented holiday)!"

Nice try, but really, just the fact that it's a holiday isn't going to suddenly make me want to eat meat.

5. *Waves meat under my nose* "Look at this hamburger I'm eating! It's delicious!"

That's great for you, friend. I'm happy you're eating something you find delicious, I really am. But rubbing it in my face isn't going to tempt me and instead will probably just cause me to be annoyed with you.

6. "That's unnatural to be vegetarian. Humans are meant to eat meat."

Ah well, you see, there's this cool thing humans have called free will. It means everything you do in your life is up to you-- including what you eat!

7. "The animal's dead; you might as well eat it."

Okay, so by that logic, whenever you see roadkill or dead bugs in your house, why don't you just eat them? I mean they're already dead, right?

But seriously, I'm not vegetarian to try to magically bring those animals back to life. I know they're already dead. The point of being vegetarian (at least for me personally, but a lot of other vegetarians I know feel the same) is because of how those animals in the meat industry are treated, and to be honest, the idea of eating a dead animal is just kind of gross.

8. "Oh, but you eat plants and those are also living things! You're killing plants!"

Very funny. No really. I'm laughing so hard. A+ joke, never heard that one before.

9. *Makes face at veggie burger or various vegetarian substitute meal on my plate* "Are you really going to eat that? Ew."

*Makes face at hamburger or various other dead animal on your plate* Are you really going to eat that? Ew.

10. "Oh, you're vegetarian? You must eat really healthy then!"

Yeah...nope. Being vegetarian means I eat just everything that's not meat-- including (and mostly consisting of to be honest) a ton of carbs and desserts.

11. "But how do you get your protein?"

What planet are you living on where you think meat is the only source of protein? Seriously, there are eggs, yogurt, cheese, and other animal products not meat; even if someone is vegan and avoids eating animal products altogether there are still plenty of other foods with protein like nuts, protein bars, peanut butter, beans, tofu, green vegetables, granola, and even more. You don't need to depend on animals to consume protein! Repeat after me: YOU DON'T NEED TO DEPEND ON ANIMALS TO CONSUME PROTEIN!

12. "So like...what do you eat?"

Oh right, I forgot, meat and other animal products are THE ONLY THINGS ON THIS EARTH humans can possibly eat. There are absolutely NO other food options available to us!

Okay, so I've humorously expressed my frustration dealing with various obnoxious comments about my vegetarian lifestyle, but really, don't say any of this to any vegetarians in your life, especially around now when the holidays are coming up, because this is when we tend to hear these things the most. I don't judge you for your dietary choices; no need to judge me for mine!