As a vegetarian, life isn't always easy. Sometimes, we go out to a restaurant and realize that there's only one item on the menu that we can eat. Eating can become frustrating and cumbersome. People always have something to say about our lifestyle and it can become very aggravating.

1. "There's salad. That's vegetarian, right?"

We don't only eat salad. We don't only eat vegetables. I feel like so many people struggle with the idea that vegetarians do not only eat vegetables. Rarely do we only want to eat salad for a full meal, just like any other normal human. We usually want pasta, a veggie burger, or another actual meal instead of salad and bread or bread and potatoes, like we usually get stuck with.

2. "Can you just pick the meat off of it?"

No, we can't "just pick the meat off." Sure, if there's a stray bacon bit in our egg on our salad, it doesn't mean that we're wasteful, unreasonable, and throw the whole thing away, but we certainly cannot pick pepperoni off of pizza and eat it. The pizza still has massive amounts of meat juice on it.

3. "How do you live without [insert a dairy product]?"

For the last time, vegetarians are not vegans. We eat cheese, eggs, ice cream (probably too much of that), yogurt, and drink milk. We just don't eat meat.

4. "So, what do you even eat?"

We eat everything that is not meat. We eat bread, noodles, sandwiches, fruit, vegetables, sweet treats, salad (ugh), pizza, and even tacos with black or refried beans.

5. "I totally forgot that you're a vegetarian!"

So many people forget that you're a vegetarian, it's like a new revelation in the dining hall every meal. Everyone is so curious as to why and when you became a vegetarian. It's interesting to me that people forget and then act so surprised to find out that I don't eat meat. Firstly, I've been a vegetarian ever since everyone at college met me. Secondly, why is it such a big deal that I'm a vegetarian?

6. "Do you care if I sit next to you while I eat this [insert title of meat]?"

Maybe I'm alone on this one, I don't know how other vegetarians feel, but, personally, I really don't care. If I couldn't sit next to anyone eating meat, I would sit by myself at almost every meal. It's my lifestyle and I'm not about to tell you to change yours to be more like mine, just like I don't want you telling me to be more like you. Most of my friends, my boyfriend, and all of my family eat meat. It's OK if you eat that chicken noodle soup while sitting next to me, I promise.