I've been a picky eater all my life. I know I'm not the only one out there, so, without further ado, here are five things picky eaters want you to know:

1. We don't like eating at other people's houses.

What if you put sauce on my spaghetti? Or you make something I don't like?

We don't want to be rude, but there's not a lot we like. It's nothing personal. We just don't want to take the chance of gagging on your cooking and having that awkward moment when we have to act like it's good.

2. We hate it when our foods touch.

If my steak juice touches my potatoes, they're contaminated and I'm done.

"It all ends up in the same place." Yeah well, to us, that's not what matters. It's in our mouths that matters. That's like blending up yogurt, hot dogs, corn, and dessert... and then drinking it. Stomachs don't taste, intestines don't taste, and neither do anuses. If you truly don't care what your food tastes like, then why don't you just eat some dirt? It will end up back in the same place it started, right?

3. Condiments are the worst.

I don't want to smell your ketchup. I don't want to look at your ketchup. I don't want to be around your ketchup.

This may not apply to everyone, but for those of us picky eaters it does affect, we don't want your comments like, "Isn't that sandwich dry without mayonnaise?" I don't know. I mean, I have something called salivary glands to substitute for the fattening, gross condiments. Not to mention, it's called a sandwich for a reason.

4. Trying something new is a big deal.

I'd rather filter feed.

If we don't want to try something, don't push it. "Well you've never had my mom's tacos." We don't care whose tacos they are. If we don't like tacos, we don't like tacos. It's not how it's prepared; it's the general ingredients that are used.

5. "If you like ____, then why don't you like ____?"

I really don't understand why you insist that since I like tomatoes, I like ketchup.

We all have things that we only like on certain things, mixed with certain things, etc. Marinara sauce is good on pizza -- not with mozzarella sticks. Also, I love tomatoes, but ketchup is much more than a blended up garden fresh tomato. It has vinegar, sugar, and all sorts of other nasty stuff with it. Why would we want to dip fries in a squashed tomato, anyway?

Every picky eater is different. Every picky eater is a different level of picky. Every picky eater has certain things that s/he finds appealing or unappealing. If you'll eat anything, good for you, but don't point your finger at those who won't.