To Martheena Faye Santos,

Tonight I raise my toast not only to the recipient of this year’s Familian of the Year, but also to
the love of my life. I cordially invite everyone to clap their hands and clink their wine glasses.

This high and prestigious award deserves to be granted to someone who deserves it, and I think
Martheena ultimately falls under that category. Beautiful things don’t ask for attention, and we
can all agree that attaining something grand and extraordinary should not be a basis for one’s
worthiness for such an award.

Your efforts are seen, not only by your peers, but by me. I’ve seen your heights, from your ups
and your downs. Though the path has not always been a clear and linear path, you’ve always
found a way to spruce up the jagged line ahead of you. I haven’t been there with you since the
start, but if one thing’s certain — it’s that I'll be there with you till the finishing line.

You’ve taught me many things, but if there is one thing that struck me the most, it would be the
strength in your stillness. Past your versatile exterior, is a delicate interior budding throughout
the walls you put up. Yet despite your attempts to hide that, I’ve always seen right through you.
Beneath the silent battles, you still remain steadfast and versatile, something I have always
admired about you.

Your brilliance shines through ever so subtly. However, not too faint for people to recognize.
Your prowess in athletics, arts, and writing is something worth mentioning. It pains me to know
that you do not acknowledge that.

You were not only my colleague, you have also been the best thing that ever happened to me.
You’ve played such an important role in the 15 years of my existence. Who would’ve known that
the dominoes cascaded to a line, guiding me to you?

You were not just a shallow sight, you were an experience. I’d rather be with you in the chaos,
rather than be alone in my peace and solitude. And if loving you were a habit, I'm sure it would
die hard. You made me realize that home isn’t just 4 walls and a roof, sometimes it could also
be a person. Thank you for giving me a love I'd never exile, a love I’d carry throughout my life, a
love I'll never forget. I can proudly say that I am always and eternally tied to you, body and soul.
Hence, my love for you remains as infinite as the stars.

Congratulations for winning Familian of the Year, Faye. You deserve this and the whole
universe. I love you, most ardently.
This award isn’t just for anyone ordinary, it's not for a no-one. I give this award and dedicate this speech to the
girl I love the most, Martheena Faye Santos.

This high and prestigious award deserves to be granted to someone who deserves it, and I think Martheena
ultimately falls under that category. Beautiful things don’t ask for attention, and we can all agree that attaining
something grand and extraordinary should not be a basis for one’s worthiness for such an award.

I once believed love was like a single sun, forever suspended in the vast expense of my sky. I was content in
its constant warmth, a sun that never rose, nor set, bathing my world in an unchanging twilight. The thought of
another dawn felt unnecessary, even intrusive. My love was enough, I told myself, a stubborn sunset clinging to
the horizon was sufficient.

But then, you arrived. Not like a fiery explosion, but a gentle sunrise, painting the edges of my sky with hues I
never knew existed. At first, I resisted. Your light challenged the comfortable familiarity of my twilight,
threatening to disrupt the stability I'd constructed. You saw the beauty in my self-imposed dusk, but yearned to
share the radiance of a full day.

Slowly, as your love's gentle dawn chased away the shadows of my doubt, I began to yearn for that daylight.
The thought of a love that danced with both the setting and rising sun, a love that held both. Perhaps, I began
to ponder, the sky couldn't hold just one sun. Perhaps, love wasn't about clinging to a static state, but about
embracing the entire journey, from the farewell of dusk to the awakening of dawn. I realized you weren't
disrupting my sky, you were completing it. You weren't replacing my sunset, you were my sunrise, arriving later,
yes, but just as essential in painting the full picture of my day.

You were the missing half, the other sun my sky craved. You showed me that love wasn't about choosing
between sunrise and sunset, but about accepting the beauty of both, together. And as your light mingled with
mine, casting a breathtaking spectacle across my heart, I knew I had finally found the love that bathed my
world in the perfect blend of twilight and dawn.

You weren't a sunrise bathed in flawless, unblemished light, either. You had your storms, moments where
shadows stretched across your heart, casting unexpected chills. We stumbled, misunderstood, and fumbled
through arguments, the hues of our love temporarily obscured. But just like the sky accepts clouds as part of its
ever-changing narrative, my heart learned to embrace all aspects of yours. Because even in those
imperfections, I saw a reflection of my own: a raw, vulnerable human striving to love and be loved in return.

We aren't two perfect suns illuminating a flawless sky. We are a constellation of flaws and strengths, orbiting
each other, learning to shine brighter together. Every sunrise reveals a new facet of your love, a deeper
understanding of your complexities. Throughout the imperfections, we constantly reminded ourselves of being
the best for each other. That's why we don't consider someone as the "perfect" part, instead the "best" part. We
acknowledge that they are flawed. Its recognizing that "best" is subjective and attainable, it shows the
sacredness of fragility rather than an idealized notion of flawlessness.

The things that make you ungreat are the greatest things about you. It’s crazy how you’re just living your life,
but completely changing mine. If one thing is certain about the complicated spectrum of love, it is that we
move forward, not towards perfection, but towards a love that celebrates our unique journeys, flaws and all.
And in that shared imperfection, I find the most perfect love of all: a love that grows, accepts, and shines its
brightest when we are both, unapologetically, ourselves.

You were not just a shallow sight, you were an experience. I’d rather be with you in the chaos, rather than be
alone in my peace and solitude. And if loving you were a habit, I'm sure it would die hard. You made me realize
that home isn’t just 4 walls and a roof, sometimes it could also be a person. Thank you for giving me a love I'd
never exile, a love I’d carry throughout my life, a love I'll never forget. I can proudly say that I am always and
eternally tied to you, body and soul. Hence, my love for you remains as infinite as the clouds. You weren’t only
the “Familian of the Year,” but also the “Familian of my Year.” I love you, most ardently.