Have you ever been really excited about something and then someone interjects with an opinion that led to your sadness? That’s someone yucking your yum. It doesn’t feel very nice.

Having your yums yucked causes a lot of turmoil. It’s a difficult experience to navigate. But you experience the five stages of grief just like any other difficult experience.

First, there is denial. There is no way that person could possibly hate Taylor Swift or broccoli or puzzles. There are things that are fundamentally disgusting, and there are things that are fundamentally amazing. How could someone ever believe that broccoli is not fundamentally amazing? It looks like a tree, it fits the green veggie category, and it tastes like love! In this first stage, things can be pretty heartbreaking or shocking. It’s hard to believe that someone would shut you down for no good reason.

The next stage is anger. This is where you can get some good punches in (metaphorically speaking, probably). They deserve it.

It was hard enough to believe that someone would have the nerve to hate broccoli. But even if they did, why would they announce it at the same moment you were getting all hyped about your broccoli cheddar soup? Is it so important that they announce it at that exact moment? Was the world going to blow up if Jonathan didn’t announce that he hated broccoli? And since apparently he indeed does not like broccoli, that is clearly just because he is an unhealthy, stupid, evil bully. Unhealthy bullies wouldn’t like broccoli because they prioritize Cheetos over friendship.

Then you face bargaining, the third stage. You hear yourself saying, “If only you had been breastfed, then you’d be smarter”. Smart people love broccoli. Maybe you start to think, if only you had decided to order the pizza, or had gone out with Stephanie instead. Life was easier when you weren’t being ostracized for liking green, tree-like veggies.

Then there’s the depression. That can happen when you’re in the car with Jonathan, jamming out to some T-Swift, and he changes the radio station. You’re left alone, shut down, and sad. How are you supposed to continue eating your broccoli cheddar soup when someone has just so rudely commented on how gross your meal is? You feel stupid for ever saying you liked broccoli. You feel gross because your food is gross. You feel alone.

But, eventually, you reach acceptance. It doesn’t matter that Jonathan thinks broccoli is nasty because you love it, and Jonathan doesn’t decide what you eat.

The unfortunate reality is, though, that sometimes it can feel like the Jonathan in your life does decide what you eat. When you turn up the Swift tunes on your phone and your friend starts to go through a long talk about why Taylor Swift sucks, that is tough. Does she mean that, since Taylor Swift lied about talking on the phone with Kanye West, you are no longer allowed to listen to her music? Or that, since Taylor Swift is not as talented a singer as Beyoncé, you should feel stupid for liking her? It’s an isolating situation.

Don’t be Jonathan. Let people enjoy the things they enjoy in peace. It’s something we all do. We are all Jonathan at one point or another, but try to catch yourself the next time you are about to do it. This world is already hard enough, no one needs someone to yell at them for being happy.