My Solo Trip Before Tying the Knot

This new pre-wedding “trend” (which has garnered over 3.1 billion views on TikTok) gained traction after small business owner and YouTube content creator Aja Dang-Puspos went to a spa resort sans friends. Aside from not wanting to put more financial pressure on her loved ones, Aja also didn’t want anyone to ask her questions about what to do or where to go. “I just wanted to be pampered,” she told the New York Times — and honestly, I wanted that for myself as well.

To give a little more context: In April 2017, my fiancé and I got engaged, and in August 2017, my mother unexpectedly passed away. Since then, I’ve been trying to rediscover who I am as a woman without my mom — and honestly, it’s been hard.