Up From Here

In this episode, we dive into friendship — how much our friends influence us, what it really takes to maintain long-term relationships, and whether "birds of a feather flock together" is actually true.

We discuss how the people around us shape our decision-making, perspectives, habits, and even our judgment. Are we more influenced by our friends than we'd like to admit?

From there, we get into the realities of long-term friendship. Loving people through different seasons of life. Accepting that your friends will change over time. And understanding that the version of someone you met years ago may not be the version standing in front of you today.

Kelsi opens up about her tendency to cut people off quickly when they disappoint her, and how she's learning that every conflict doesn't require a complete ending. Sometimes the healthiest thing isn't removing someone from your life altogether — it's simply reorganizing where they belong within it.

We also talk about friendship hierarchies and why not every friend should occupy the same space in your life. Some friends are for deep conversations. Some are for fun. Some are for business. Some are for growth. And expecting one person to be everything can create unnecessary disappointment.

This episode is about releasing unrealistic expectations, understanding relationship dynamics, and building healthier friendships that can evolve with time.

If you've ever struggled with friendship changes, cutting people off, or figuring out where people fit in your life, this conversation is for you.

Follow us on Instagram: 🍒 @thekelsilee 🍒 @janaiiman ✨ @xo.upfromhere

In this special Juneteenth episode, we decided to do something a little different.

Instead of focusing on the pain, oppression, and suffering that often dominate conversations around Black history, we wanted to spend time celebrating the incredible contributions Black people continue to make today.

After discussing the origins of Juneteenth and why the holiday exists, we shift our focus toward honoring some of the brilliant Black innovators, entrepreneurs, creatives, and visionaries shaping our culture right now.

From Olamide Olowe and Breanna Daniels to Virgil Abloh and many others, we highlight the people building businesses, creating opportunities, influencing culture, and leaving lasting legacies for future generations.

We also talk about our responsibility to not only know our history, but to actively celebrate our people while they're here. Too often we wait until someone has passed to acknowledge their impact. This episode is about giving flowers in real time.

The conversation expands into the importance of supporting our community through intentional action: buying Black, building Black, investing in Black businesses, and preserving the culture that has given so much to the world.

This episode is a celebration.

A celebration of resilience. A celebration of innovation. A celebration of community. A celebration of Black excellence.

If you've ever wondered how to contribute to the culture beyond social media posts and hashtags, this conversation is for you.

Follow us on Instagram: 🍒 @thekelsilee 🍒 @janaiiman ✨ @xo.upfromhere

In this episode, we unpack the strange state of modern culture and ask a simple question:

Has everybody become a critic?

We start by talking about music and why so much of it feels stagnant. Why do some of today's biggest artists seem stuck creatively? Why does it feel like growth, evolution, and artistic risk-taking have become less important than staying relevant?

That conversation leads us into our culture's obsession with youth. From celebrities to influencers to everyday people, we discuss the pressure to remain young, desirable, and culturally relevant at all costs—and what gets lost when aging is treated like a failure instead of a privilege.

We also dive into the recent Painted by Esther and Jackie Asamoah conversation and the growing tendency to disguise perfectionism as accountability. At what point does "holding creators accountable" become expecting them to be flawless?

We unpack the contradiction of demanding perfection from public figures while refusing to examine our own behavior. Why do people passionately criticize creators for missing a brand or making a mistake, yet continue supporting companies, industries, and institutions they claim to oppose?

From boycotting one celebrity while consuming content produced by another problematic figure, to calling out strangers online while making no meaningful changes in our own lives, we explore the hypocrisy that has become normalized in internet culture.

We also discuss "internet gangsters"—the confidence people have behind screens that rarely translates into real life—and how outrage has become a form of entertainment.

And as always, we close by speaking directly to younger women, sharing some of the lessons we wish we understood earlier about identity, growth, integrity, and finding your own voice in a world that constantly tells you who to be.

If you've ever felt exhausted by online discourse, frustrated by performative accountability, or curious about where culture is headed next, this episode is for you.

Follow us on Instagram: 🍒 @thekelsilee 🍒 @janaiiman ✨ @xo.upfromhere

In this episode, we talk about family, womanhood, power dynamics, and the ways our perspectives evolve as we get older.

Kelsi shares what it was like having her in-laws visit and how unexpectedly healing the experience was. Watching David interact with his parents — especially his father — added an entirely new dimension to their relationship and gave her a glimpse into a family dynamic she hadn't fully experienced before. We talk about how meaningful it can be to witness your partner as someone's child, and how seeing healthy family connections can change the way you understand the person you love.

That conversation leads us into a bigger question: how important is family compatibility when choosing a partner? Janai reflects on whether she could see herself building a future with someone whose family she didn't feel genuinely connected to.

From there, we shift into a discussion about women in the workplace and the reality that many women are still met with condescension, objectification, and inappropriate behavior simply for existing in professional spaces. Using a recent viral moment as an example, we unpack the disturbing tendency to blame women for the behavior of men and how predators thrive in environments where bystanders stay silent.

We also discuss the growing disconnect between traditional career paths and modern work. Why are content creators, streamers, and influencers still dismissed as "not having real jobs" when they've become some of the most influential economic drivers of our generation?

Finally, we dive into age-gap relationships and how our perspective has changed as we've gotten older. What once seemed glamorous now raises very different questions. We discuss why so many older men pursue women decades younger than them, what maturity actually looks like, and the uncomfortable realities hidden beneath some of these relationships.

This episode is about power, perspective, family, and the importance of questioning narratives we've accepted without thinking twice.

If you've ever reconsidered something you once normalized, this conversation is for you.

Follow us on Instagram: 🍒 @thekelsilee 🍒 @janaiiman ✨ @xo.upfromhere

In this episode, we unpack loyalty — what it actually means, what our boundaries are, and how friendships can completely shift when someone hurts the people we love.

We talk about choosing our best friend's side in conflict, especially when there's genuine disrespect, betrayal, or harm involved. Not out of immaturity or "blind loyalty," but because some actions naturally change how safe or aligned someone feels to us moving forward.

From there, the conversation turns to cheating — and whether we could realistically remain friends with someone who is actively cheating on their partner while refusing to make a decision about what they actually want. We unpack the discomfort of watching someone continuously betray another person while trying to maintain closeness with them.

The episode also dives into gender roles, partnership, and the realities of building a home together in a way that actually makes sense for your relationship.

Kelsi talks about her and David redefining responsibilities in their household based on functionality, capability, and preference — not traditional gender expectations. We discuss how, even while criticizing patriarchy, many of us still unconsciously benefit from certain aspects of it. And if we truly want to deconstruct those systems in our own lives, it also means reevaluating the ways we participate in them too.

This episode is about loyalty, accountability, fairness, and creating relationships rooted in intention instead of default roles and expectations.

If you've ever questioned where your loyalty lies, struggled with friendship boundaries, or redefined what partnership looks like in your own life — this conversation is for you.

Follow us on Instagram: 🍒 @thekelsilee 🍒 @janaiiman ✨ @xo.upfromhere

In this episode, we talk about what it means to live a life that doesn't follow a traditional blueprint.

Janai opens up about her growing desire to guide people who are curious about exploring "tripping," and how both of us are slowly accepting that our paths may never look conventional. We talk about embracing the fact that we'll probably do a little bit of everything throughout our lifetimes — evolving, redefining ourselves, and allowing our dreams to change as we do.

At 23, the things we thought we wanted already look completely different.

Kelsi gets honest about still trying to make peace with not working a traditional paycheck job, and learning to appreciate the freedom that comes with that lifestyle instead of feeling guilty for it. We talk about slowing down enough to actually discover what makes us happy, trying new hobbies, and building lives that feel aligned instead of performative.

Another major part of this episode is sisterhood and conversation. The deep love language of talking. Feeling emotionally nourished through long conversations, shared perspectives, vulnerability, and simply being understood by the women around us.

And of course… the conversation takes a turn into health and the current state of the world. From concerns surrounding the massive influx of people coming to Atlanta, to conversations around antibiotic-resistant STDs and the importance of being sexually safe, informed, and responsible — we unpack how important it is to protect your health in every sense of the word.

This episode is reflective, curious, funny, slightly chaotic, and very much about learning how to build a life that actually feels like yours.

If you've been questioning the traditional path, craving deeper connection, or trying to redefine success and happiness on your own terms — this one is for you.

Follow us on Instagram: 🍒 @thekelsilee 🍒 @janaiiman ✨ @xo.upfromhere

In this episode, we keep things light, fun, and surprisingly deep as we pull random questions out of a bowl and answer them in real time.

What started as a simple game quickly turned into conversations that made us laugh, reflect, and learn even more about each other as best friends. From unserious takes to deeper reflections, these are genuinely the kinds of questions that bring people closer.

We talk about the importance of curiosity in friendship — continuing to ask questions, evolve together, and make space for the versions of each other that are still unfolding.

This episode feels like sitting in the group chat with your best friend, asking the random questions that somehow turn into life conversations.

If you've ever wanted better conversations with your friends, needed new questions to ask your bestie, or just wanted to laugh with us for a while, this episode is for you.

Follow us on Instagram: 🍒 @thekelsilee 🍒 @janaiiman ✨ @xo.upfromhere

In this episode, we sit in a hard truth — what it feels like to be deeply misunderstood.

We talk about a recent conversation with men that left us feeling unheard, unseen, and honestly… hopeless. Not because we expect perfection, but because it felt like there wasn't even a desire to understand where we were coming from as women.

We unpack the emotional gap that can exist — how so much of women's lives are rooted in feeling, connection, and emotional awareness… and how painful it can be when the men we love struggle to meet us there. Not out of malice, but because many were never taught how.

That realization brings up another layer — grief.

Grief for the ways men are raised. Grief for the emotional limitations they're often socialized into. And grief for how that impacts relationships, communication, and the ability to truly connect.

We also zoom out and talk about something bigger — the sense that community feels fractured. How, at times, it can feel like everyone is moving for themselves. How that lack of unity shows up not just in relationships, but in the way we exist with one another as a whole.

This episode isn't about blame — it's about honesty. About naming what hurts, questioning what we've been taught, and sitting in the discomfort of not having all the answers.

If you've ever felt emotionally disconnected, misunderstood, or unsure if real understanding between people is even possible… this conversation is for you.

Follow us on Instagram: 🍒 @thekelsilee 🍒 @janaiiman ✨ @xo.upfromhere

In this episode, we check in on where we actually are right now — mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Janai gives an update on her bodybuilding journey as she hits 26 weeks out, and how the discipline is getting very real. From quitting smoking to stay on track with her physique goals, to realizing how much it was emotionally blunting her, she opens up about what it feels like to be fully present again. We also talk about how ADHD shows up in her day-to-day life, and how being properly supported has helped her focus, regulate, and move with more intention.

Kelsi shifts the conversation into something heavier — what it feels like to exist in today's world. War, the economy, racism, human rights… and somehow still showing up online doing everyday things like filming a "get ready with me." The disconnect. The confusion. The question of what are we even doing?

We also dive into deconstructing — the process of questioning beliefs, habits, and ways of thinking that were once second nature. Kelsi opens up about wanting to speak more publicly about it, while also feeling like she's still learning in real time. How disorienting it is to realize how many of your "norms" are rooted in something you're now questioning.

And in the middle of all of that, we show what it really looks like to navigate communication when two people are wired completely differently. The patience, the grace, and the intentional effort it takes to understand someone who doesn't process things the way you do.

This episode is honest, a little all over the place, and very real — because that's where we are right now.

If you've been navigating discipline, questioning your beliefs, or trying to make sense of the world while still living your life… this one is for you.

Follow us on Instagram: 🍒 @thekelsilee 🍒 @janaiiman ✨ @xo.upfromhere

In this episode, we talk about something so many of us feel but rarely say out loud — the pressure of feeling behind.

Kelsi shares her experience spending the weekend with a group of powerful female entrepreneurs while mentoring young girls around the city of Atlanta. Surrounded by women earning at the highest levels, she opens up about feeling inadequate and questioning what she had to offer… especially while navigating being unemployed.

But through that experience, and a conversation with her man, she was reminded that impact isn't always measured in money. That speaking life into people, pouring into others, and showing up with intention is its own kind of value.

Janai opens up about her own feelings of being behind. The pressure to have already reached certain financial milestones, and the internal voice that says she should be further along by now.

Together, we unpack the weight of unmet goals and expectations, and the importance of forgiving yourself for not being where you thought you'd be.

We also talk about how social media has distorted our perception of success, convincing an entire generation that we should be rich, accomplished, and "figured out" at unrealistically young ages. How that constant comparison feeds urgency, anxiety, and a need for instant gratification.

This episode is about slowing down. Reframing success. And understanding that the time it takes to build something meaningful is not a flaw — it's part of the beauty of life.

Because success isn't just money. And if you only chase one version of it, you might miss everything else that makes life worth living.

If you've ever felt behind, overwhelmed, or like you're not where you're "supposed" to be, this conversation is for you.

Follow us on Instagram: 🍒 @thekelsilee 🍒 @janaiiman ✨ @xo.upfromhere