(music) Poor Beethoven! His beautiful piece of music, Fur Elise, has been turned into the call for household garbage! Bad news for Beethoven, but for us, maybe not! 
　

Contest Chair, honorable judges, fellow Toastmasters, and friends, when our houses start to stink because of the build up of garbage, hearing Beethoven's music definitely brings relieve. But what happens when our lives start to stink? Can we also, upon hearing that same music, throw away the things, or even the people, that are responsible for creating all that emotional trash in our lives? I mean, why do we always have to forgive and forget?

Why can't we tell them to grow up or go away? Unity~ humph~ can it really exist amongst all this diversity? Hmm~ Perhaps my very true story of “One Little Pig” can provide a bit of inspiration for all. 
　

Once upon a time, there lived a happy little girl named Tina, me. Before the age of two, I had a wonderful life: Mommy would always feed me when I felt hungry, play with me when I got bored, and cuddle me when I needed a hug. But then, one day, she brought home this bald and wrinkly thing… I didn't know what the heck it was, but I bet it was a pig; because all it did was to eat and sleep, eat and sleep.

Worse, this pig hogged all of Mommy's attention! I knew I had to get rid of this Mommy-stealing pig! So every night when I heard the garbage truck coming, I'd anxiously run over to Mommy and ask her, “Can we throw it away? Can-we-please-throw it away?!” And Mommy would always lovingly pat my head and say, “Yes, but let's do that tomorrow.” 
　

Well, I guess “tomorrow” never came, because this pig is still a part of my family; and what-da-ya-know! It grew up to be my sister, Li! No! Don't look at her, or you'll be fooled! Underneath her angelic smile, she can be quite the little devil! 
　

For example, one night back in kindergarten, I was desperately looking for a place to hide my favorite Snoopy stickers from Li. And then, out of nowhere, came a snicker, “I don't want your stinky stickers.”
　

“Yeah, right.” I'm no fool! Li has always got her eyes on my things.

“I won't touch them. I promise. Oh, shoo-shoo, go take a shower!”
　

I still had my doubts but, well, she did promise, so I headed for the bathroom. 

Ten minutes later, my heart nearly jumped out of my body when I saw my room: Li had stuck my stickers everywhere: on my notebooks, on my desk, and even all over my walls!

“You promised!” I shouted, and all she could say was, “What's promise?” 
　

Enough! Enough waiting for that “tomorrow!” Mom's “tomorrow” was simply too far into the future! Time for plan B. Everyday before Li came home from preschool, I would plan out my mission impossible: Throw Pig Away Today! And one day, as usual, I quickly stashed away my plans when I heard the school bus coming, the school bus that signals the return of the devilish pig!

And then pretended I was just watching TV, waiting for her to come in. And waited… but she never came in. Mom called the school and rushed out. Hmm… Could this be? Could Li have disappeared from my life without me having to do anything? Wa-ha-ha-ha… What if she was lost, and no one was there to help her? What if she was kidnapped, and no one was there to protect her? And then it hit me. The thought of losing Li was the worst nightmare of all!

Sure, her ways may be childish, but it is also those childish ways that make me laugh when I feel sad! So how could I? How could I have so selfishly wished her away like that? 

Whew~ Thank God Li was not lost nor kidnapped. She just simply fell asleep on the bus, and missed her stop. Friends, if you feel the same way about a special someone;

if you feel you can no longer tolerate his or her personal habits or behaviors, please try a bit harder to see the good that can come from the bad. Don't just “forgive and forget,” but “accept and adore” – accept the faults of your loved ones, and learn to adore them for it. 
　

“So… does that mean you're not gonna throw me away anymore?”
　

“Of course not! I'm a responsible citizen now. I'll just recycle you instead.”