I'm a proud GenX-er. I was raised on MTV, OPM, and the firm belief that if you wanted something done right, you did it yourself. “Walang Himala!!!” (There is no miracle!) --as the transcendent movie once proclaimed. I also absorbed the Western ideal that independence meant not needing anyone. To succeed in life is to not complain and not make excuses.  Grin and bear it while being the nice Filipina I was expected to be. 

That mentality served me well in my international corporate career. I climbed ladders in seven countries and was convinced that asking for help was going to be seen as weakness.

Then I got sick and then menopause also happened. And suddenly, the GenX playbook of "tough it out alone" wasn't just unhelpful – it was making everything worse.

That's why I'm partnering with GenM, an organization dedicated to improving the menopause experience for millions of women worldwide navigating this transition.

I'm swapping my GenX independence for GenM solidarity. And like any unexpected blessing, it comes at the right time.

The Sisterhood I Forgot I Had

Growing up, I was surrounded by women. Not just my mother, my grandmothers and my mom’s sisters but an entire battalion of lolas and titas who weren't actually related to me. My great-aunts and cousins once or twice removed were all Lola – Lola Luisa, Lola Joving, Lola Etang, the list goes on. My mother's cousins and friends were all Titas.   

This wasn't just affection – it was structure. The Philippines is a matriarchal society. Women run households, make decisions, and most importantly, they don't let other women struggle alone.

When one lola needed help, another showed up with reassurance… and food. When a tita faced challenges, the others came without being asked… also with food. There was no such thing as "figure it out yourself" – there was only "let me help you carry that." (always with food).

Somewhere between watching "Friends" episodes where everyone had their own apartment (unimaginable in Manila where we lived with family until marriage) and believing that "having it all" meant doing it all yourself, I forgot this. Truth be told, I deprioritized community for corporate individualism.

Going through menopause was a wake-up call.  GenM is there to help me answer it.

Why GenM Matters (Especially in the Philippines)

GenM was co-founded by Heather Jackson and Sam Simister with a mission: to unite brands and organizations to improve the menopause experience, normalize the conversation, and support the chronically underserved menopause community.

Here's what we're not talking about: In the Philippines, 83% of women experience menopause symptoms, yet only 31% consult a physician. And only 12% believe there's sufficient awareness and support for menopause in their communities.

We're an invisible generation, suffering through 48 possible signs in silence – like a neighbor’s loud videoke session at 3am, except the videoke is happening inside your own body and there's no way to ask it to turn down the volume.

Our language doesn’t even have a proper word for menopause. We borrow the English menopos or call it "Huling Dalaw" (The Last Visit), which sounds like a title to a bad horror movie.

But in a moment of remembered clarity, our lolas and titas never operated that way. They shared wisdom, remedies, and truth over merienda and tsismis. They built networks of support that carried women through every life transition. They were doing "sisterhood" before it became a hashtag.

It's time we bring that spirit into the modern menopause conversation.

What I'm Committing To

By joining GenM, I'm committing to three things I know I can deliver:

1. Being part of a transformative movement. Because one voice is easily dismissed, but a chorus of Filipino women? That's a force of nature. When we show up together – as lolas, titas, and sisters – we're unstoppable.

2. Normalizing the conversation in the Philippines. If I can write  and talk about my experience with cancer openly, we can talk about hot flashes and brain fog over coffee. We need to stop treating peri/menopause as a taboo topic and stop talking about it whispered conversations.

3. Providing better products and services. My husband and I started working on peri/menopause solutions because I needed help and couldn't find what I was looking for. Now we're building what I wish had existed for me – for all of us.

The Honest Truth

Here's what my GenX programming taught me to hide: I'm not doing this purely out of altruism. I'm doing this because I wish someone had done it for me.

The wonderful irony of it is that the best investment in yourself is investing in the women coming after you.

When you have a life raft, you don't just paddle away. You start building a bigger boat. You become the lola or tita or sis that someone else needs.

Welcome to the New Sisterhood

I spent decades believing that real success meant achieving it yourself. Remember when Western "independence" became the ultimate goal, even though we grew up in households where three generations shared the dinner table? When "I don't need anybody" felt like a power anthem instead of a lonely confession that would have horrified our lolas?

How wrong I was.

GenM is that sisterhood, formalized and amplified. It's brands saying, "We see the millions of women going through this, and we're going to do better."

So if you're in perimenopause, menopause, or supporting someone who is – welcome. You don't need to be my biological sister to be my sis. You don't need to be related to earn the title of lola or tita.

You just need to be willing to show up, speak up, and help carry the load.

Together, we're building a new culture where peri/menopause isn't whispered about in shame or in embarrassment but discussed openly over coffee (wine, or collagen tea – your choice). Where the motto isn't Bridget Jones singing "All By Myself" solo in her apartment, but rather the Filipino way: "We Belong Together" – in full Mariah Carey diva mode in a KTV room.

From GenX to GenM. From independence to sisterhood. From "I've got this" to "We've got this."

Let's do this together.

To learn more about GenM and the 48 signs of menopause, visit gen-m.com. And if you're ready to talk about your peri/menopause experience – funny, frustrating, or otherwise – I'm here for it. After all, that's what sisters do.