My friend is mothering me and trying to make life a competetition and I don't like the way she is acting. She strives too much for attention and I don't know how to tell her. I don't even know if I should tell her or if there is a way to make my actions speak for me. I just need her to understand that we have different backgrounds and I need her to respect me.

Ah you said the answer already in your question. You need to read the underlined parts.

My friend is mothering me and trying to make life a competetition and I don't like the way she is acting. She strives too much for attention and I don't know how to tell her. I don't even know if I should tell her or if there is a way to make my actions speak for me. I just need her to understand that we have different backgrounds and I need her to respect me.



You gain respect by telling her how you feel. You are not her marching band to sing her tune. But the question is how do you get her to understand this if you don't say something about it. So take charge and tell her how you feel. If she really is a friend then she will understand and as a bonus if she's not you will not have that trouble anymore or on the better note she will see you as an equal and not try to be dominating. Have courage because the one who needs you most is yourself. What would you do if you saw this competitive action on you in 3rd person perspective? So be your own hero. Go for it.