Hello my name is Lukas I'm 17 years old will be 18 soon and I've been pretty picky as a teen. Spaghetti, rice, pizza, beans, peas, gravy, mashed potatoes, casserole, lasagna, shrimp, lobster, corn, stew, soup, mostaccioli (i would not eat that even if you paid me) and a bunch of other foods I've never actually tried but they're just terrifying like it's super hard for me to even consider taking a bite out of something I would sweat if I was forced to try spaghetti and probably vomit.

I haven't necessarily tried a lot of foods but as a kid I loved everything. I don't know why but it's super hard for me to gain the courage to even try certain foods, I've tried pizza just today for like the 4th time and every time I taste it it's just terrible all I can taste is the sauce, people think i'm so weird that I don't like these foods and I just wish I did so i'd be considered normal. I'm basically being forced to try spaghetti soon and it's actually been stressing me out like mentally and it takes a toll on me. And it's not something where it's like "oh take a bite" i stress extremely about it. As a early teen i got pure plain hamburgers, didn't like cheese lettuce tomatoes, basically didn't eat any veggies, only ate like chicken nuggets you got in the bags, french fries, bagels, and some fruits. But the pressure from society and culture on wanting to try these new foods is so tough. I don't know why I can't just be picky and not get ridiculed and called "weird". I feel like looking back 3-4 years i'm better but still it's stressful. And the fact that I have a girlfriend and their family knows i'm like this is just even more stressful lmao.

All in all it's definitely helpful to see that i'm not alone because I honestly thought I was just a freak and some anomaly in society and that everyone liked all foods, my friends always rip on me and tell me to man up but it's legitimately stressful and I still don't understand why. Thank you for taking the time to read and know that you aren't alone.