Drake quote broken down!

Live without PRETENDING:

You should never have to pretend in life. You shouldn't have to

pretend to be someone you aren't. You shouldn't have to pretend

to like something you don't. You should live without having to

justify why you like what you do...why you believe in the things

that you do...and why you chose the friends that you have. If you're

 pretending to be someone you're not, than you might want to reevaluate

yourself as a person. That's not a real friendship if you're

pretending all the time. If you are worried about those people not

liking you, than they don't derserve to be in your world anyways.

They don't deserve your love and respect.

Love without DEPENDING:

You should NEVER depend on someone for love and you should

 NEVER depend on love to get you through a relationship.

 Sometimes, love just isn't enough. Sometimes love wont get you

through that heart breaking fight. Sometimes love wont get you

 through that heart wrenching lie. And sometimes, love just wont

 get you through that promise you were supposed to be keeping

all this time but find out it was just an empty promise. Like

 the old saying goes "You have to love yourself, before you can

love someone else." If you go out looking for someone to love

you for all the wrong reasons, than it's not going to work out.

And when you finally do find that unconditional love...don't depend

 on that love to keep everything going. Don't depend on that love

 to last a lifetime. It doesn't always last. It's not always good.

 Along with you, you also have to have trust and honesty and

compromise and patience.You have to have a life of your own,

but at the same time creating a new life with that other person. Love

 shouldn't be hard. It shouldn't cause anyone pain. It does take

work and compromise. But it should also be fun and exciting

 and always changing.

Listen without DEFENDING:

Listening is a tool that many people have yet to master. It's a

characteristicthat many individuals do not possess. Listening

 is hard to do, when you aren'tinterested in what that other person

 has to say. And it's hard when you don't agree with what

they have to say. And it's really hard not to jump the gun and

automatically defend the way you believe...what you think is right

...and what you want to say. When you are in an argument

with someone or when you're fighting with someone, it's especially

 hard to hold back. You want that personto hear your opinion.

 You want your voice to be heard. But yelling and defending don't

 always work. That doesn't always get your point across. Listening is

a two way street. You have to listen and the person you're talking

 to must listen. Because when both parties stop listening...is the

exact moment when both parties start defending.

Speak without OFFENDING:

This can be difficult when it comes to a very passionate peron.

Or with someone with strong beliefs. And especially when it

comes to religion and race. Some people are very easily

offended while others have very tough skin. When it comes to

strangers it's hard to determine which one they are. But among

your friends, you should know who you can speak to in a joking manner

and you should know who you can't joke with in certain situations.

There are ways to get your point across without offending someone else.

Everyone isn't going to believe the same thing. Everyone isn't going to

standfor the same things you stand for. It's just not going to happen. 

You just have to speak with respect. (I mean unless they are just

being rude because I know sometimes it's hard to keep your cool).

It's hard to be the bigger person in every situation, but if

you're getting your point across in a respectful manner than others

will follow your lead.

:-]

-KC