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How do I tell an old friend that liking different things doesn't mean I've become someone else?

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I sent my friend a photo from a formal concert with the caption, "Actually loved dressing up for this." She replied, "Who are you, and what have you done with my friend?" I laughed at first. Then she said we used to make fun of people at events like that.

We did. At university, we'd invent stories about the guests in glossy event photos. My partner invited me to this concert, and I enjoyed the clothes, the music and the whole slightly grand evening. When I tried to tell my friend about it, she called it pretentious and changed the subject.

I don't think she meant to hurt me. I also know I helped create the joke that people who enjoyed these things were ridiculous. Now it feels as if I can either join her in mocking the evening or defend a version of myself she doesn't recognise.

How do I leave room for changing tastes in an old friendship? I want her to be interested in what I enjoyed, not to enjoy it herself.

Discussion

1 community replies

You could admit the old joke no longer works for you: "We did mock those evenings. I tried one and had a good time." That doesn't require a grand declaration that you've changed. It just makes this experience more important than being consistent with something you both laughed about years ago.

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