for ploning with love

after months of waiting, i finally saw you.
they are right when they say you are simple; simple, yet moving. your simplicity and the strength of your character is an inspiration not only to the people around you but also to all the people who have known and seen your story.

you are judy ann santos, the actress whom i began to love since childhood way back during those sunny afternoons where my parents would chain me inside the house to keep me from playing with my peers.
yes, you are judy ann, the mature actress who carried the role with dedication, sincerity and love. i love how you carried your character with grace, how you projected your emotions through the eyes and through your minimal gestures. trust me, your performance transcends beyond the screen.

you are dante nico garcia, the director and the writer, who brought the magical and enchanting place of cuyo, palawan before the eyes of the people. your style is nostalgic, something that knocks to the senses and invites them for a trip down the road of nostalgia to the depths of every individual’s pain, longing, hope, and happiness.

you are the staff, yes all of them, who contributed love and devotion for your conception. you have created a place that evokes almost every kind of emotion in life- sadness, bitterness, happiness, hope, love. you showed how to approach these emotions with calm, with inner strength, with the strength from friends, with the strength from the family, with strength from the community. you painted a beautiful portrait of life. you weaved seemingly simple yet complicated stories of love.

i love you for bringing back the memories of my childhood. cuyo is a place not far from the province that nurtured me for years since birth. you send me into chills when i realized how i miss the simplicity of life back then; that life where the deafening silence was a therapy, that life where you can still pause and hear yourself, that life where you can commune with nature, that life where love, no matter how complex, can seem simple and unadulterated.

it doesn’t matter if you didn’t make it to the oscars. you know how the system goes. one of these days, you will be recognized by the world as you carry the philippine flag and bring inspiration to others.

your song still haunts me. it patiently plays at the back of mind since i saw you. you are amazing. simple, yet powerful. thank you.

i will never forget your words.

“di ba mas masarap isipin na kaya ikaw ang mas nasasaktan dahil ikaw ang mas nagmamahal?

ang galit at sakit sa puso, madaling mabura ng panahon.

ang mga natutunan sa bawat pagmamahal wag mo bayaang kumupas.

'yon ang mgiging dahilan kung bakit palagi mong lilingunin ang natapos na pagmamahal nang may ngiti sa puso. may dahilan ang lahat.”

yes, everything has a reason.