Putting My Name First

It's time to be present with yourself. To quiet the mind, return to your body, and come back to love. When you close your eyes, take a deep breath in and out, and allow yourself to be still, you begin to reconnect with the love that has always existed within you. And once you remember what it feels like to truly feel that love, you never really forget it.In this episode, host Areena Antoine explores what it means to soften into yourself, get out of your head, and become more present with your body. It's about allowing yourself to feel rather than constantly think, to listen rather than search for another answer, and to reconnect with what has always been within you.A reminder that falling in love with being here starts with giving yourself the space to actually experience it.Connect with To Build Her HomeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/tobuildherhome/Connect with The Self Love LoungeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/selflovelounge_/Read The Self Love Lounge on Substackhttps://tobuildherhome.substack.com/

What happens when you write your name at the centre of a blank piece of paper? You realize you can be a kind person and still have a very selective life. In this episode, Areena reflects on what it means to put yourself on the priority list and asks: What could happen now that I actually know what matters? Perhaps you lose your old life, but finally have the space to choose a life that inspires you, and is freakin’ yours.Self Love Lounge is now releasing episodes Areena never released before through To Build Her Home, a storytelling house for Black and Brown women. These stories are part of a new chapter in Areena’s journey, where the lessons she once explored on Self Love Lounge continue to live through To Build Her Home in writing. Subscribe on Substack to read more: Click Here 

At 19, I was forced into loneliness and thought it was something happening to me. In this episode, I reflect on betrayal, being accused of something I didn’t do, and finding myself with the truth in my hands, but choosing to heal instead of using it against the people who hurt me. I talk about how the people we allow into our lives can shape us, for better or for worse, and how that experience taught me about discernment, protecting my peace, and choosing solitude. Now, at 27, I’m creating the space I need to build a life that has my name all over it.

Dear you,Maybe I’m the bad guy. I used to think being a good girl meant being nice, understanding, and accommodating. But what happens when being nice starts costing you your relationship with yourself?This episode is based on a true story. I’m talking about rejection, boundaries, loneliness, being misunderstood, and the uncomfortable realization that sometimes choosing yourself means disappointing people.But what if being the bad guy isn’t about becoming someone you’re not? What if it’s about finally becoming the woman you were too afraid to be? And maybe, for the first time, she gets to feel free.Warmly,Areena

We don’t need to shut the door on our past selves to grow. Nothing in us has to be erased for us to change and become something new. Growth isn’t about deleting who we were. It’s about understanding how every version of us has led to this moment. Even the parts we’ve outgrown still carry lessons, and we don’t have to reject them to move forward. We can expand without abandoning ourselves. This episode is for those becoming new without erasing who they were.Your voice matters here —  If there’s a question on your heart or a reflection you’d like me to explore, share it here: ⁠⁠Ask a question⁠⁠. Your voice is part of Self Love Lounge.As an energy exchange, please rate, review and write a loving note to host Areena Antoine on Spotify, Apple Podcast and all major Platforms. Follow us on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@selflovelounge_ ⁠⁠

We all have patterns we find ourselves repeating over and over, often without realizing how deeply they shape the way we give, the way we love, and the way we lose ourselves along the way. Sometimes change isn’t something we force, it’s something we surrender into, as we begin to see where we’ve been overgiving, losing our center, and slowly drifting away from ourselves. And slowly, we begin to realize that choosing ourselves isn’t a destination, but a practice of coming back, again and again, to what feels true. This episode is for those learning to stay present in their becoming, trust what they don’t fully know yet, and return home to themselves as life unfolds.Your voice matters here:  If there’s a question on your heart or a reflection you’d like me to explore, share it here: ⁠Ask a question⁠. Your voice is part of Self Love Lounge.

Sometimes opening your heart again isn’t about rushing into love; it’s about surrendering to the process of asking for help. Sometimes your heart breaks open just enough for you to see what has always been there, not by force, but by surrender, not by seeking, but by allowing. And slowly, you begin to receive the love that has never left. This episode is for those who are returning to themselves, flowing back into their own grounding, calm presence.Your voice matters here —  If there’s a question on your heart or a reflection you’d like me to explore, share it here: Ask a question. Your voice is part of this space.

There is no blueprint for grief. There is no timeline. Sometimes we wait for a sign to give us permission to let go, but it rarely comes, because waiting is just trying to control what we cannot. Healing begins when we surrender, when we turn inward and allow ourselves to feel and release. And honestly one random day, we realize we’ve been climbing a mountain we couldn’t see. At the top, we notice our hands are empty. Not from loss, but from release. We didn’t force the next step. The path opened when we surrendered. This is what moving on and letting go feels like, a no medal type of stillness which some would call freedom. As an energy exchange, please rate, review and write a loving note to host Areena Antoine on Spotify, Apple Podcast and all major Platforms. Follow us on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@selflovelounge_ ⁠⁠

Areena Antoine opens the season reflecting on love, loss, and the courage it takes to choose yourself. After a year of shedding relationships, friendships, and beliefs, she explores the heartbreak of first love and the grief that follows, discovering that grief is proof of having loved fully. This episode is for anyone who has loved deeply, lost fully, and struggled to hold themselves in the midst of heartbreak. Areena holds a mirror for Brown and Black girls, young lovers, and anyone navigating the complexities of self-love, courage, and the freedom that comes from choosing yourself. As an energy exchange, please rate, review and write a loving note to host Areena Antoine on Spotify, Apple Podcast and all major Platforms. Follow us on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@selflovelounge_ ⁠⁠

A glimpse into my world, my struggles, my joys, and the lessons that have brought me here. ‘The Trailer of my Becoming’ is my raw  invitation to share the journey of a 26-year-old Mauritian-Canadian woman learning to stand in her truth. Every episode peels back the layers of my recovery from heartbreak, the moments I’ve stumbled, the ways I’ve reclaimed my power, and the small victories that remind me who I really am. This is not a polished story; it’s real, messy, and evolving, just like me.