Not So Chic with Elli Freeman

Comparison has a way of making us feel like everyone else is ahead. In today's episode, we're talking about why we compare ourselves, the difference between comparison and jealousy, how to genuinely celebrate other people's success, and why your timeline was never meant to look like anyone else's.

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Apparently being a big sister became my entire personality. This week we're talking about siblings, the people who become siblings, why I spent 23 years trying to save my little sister, and what happens when the caretaker finally learns to let go. Plus, Guest Therapy for anyone convinced they're behind in life.

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For years I thought confidence came from fitting in. Dressing like everyone else. Dating the "right" people. Chasing validation from strangers, boys, and anyone willing to tell me I was enough.

Turns out I couldn't have been more wrong.

In this episode, I'm talking about the biggest shift I've made over the last few years: learning how to live a life that's actually aligned with my values instead of everyone else's expectations. From outpatient therapy and value sorting to dressing for myself, dating authentically, and finally letting my inner child have a seat at the...

I've been called an "old soul" for as long as I can remember, but for years it felt less like a compliment and more like a reminder that I never quite fit in.

In this episode, I'm talking about what it was like growing up feeling different—being the kid who wanted tea at The Peninsula, spent recess in knitting club, obsessed over interior design before most people cared about decorating their bedrooms, and always seemed a few steps ahead emotionally. I share how being deeply observant shaped my friendships, dating life, career, and mental health, and wh...

Body image isn't always self-hatred. Sometimes it's just constantly being aware of your body.

In this episode, I share my experience with body image from ballet classes and dieting in middle school to gaining weight in college, losing it after graduation, and learning how to stop fighting myself every day. We talk about comparison, food noise, body neutrality, and why taking care of your body feels very different than trying to punish it.

This isn't an episode about weight loss. It's an episode about making peace with yourself.

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In this episode, I'm talking about dating, situationships, heartbreak, and learning how to be okay on my own. From my first kiss in Rome to college experiences that completely changed the way I viewed relationships, I share the stories that shaped my relationship with love, self-worth, and dating.

We talk about rejection, healing, standards, and why being single no longer feels like something I'm waiting to escape.

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Friendship breakups don’t get talked about enough. In this episode, I’m unpacking the pain of outgrowing people, the heartbreak of feeling misunderstood, and why friendships can feel so complicated in your twenties. I talk about trust, people-pleasing, learning to ask for what you need, and the quiet grief of realizing some people may not be your people after all. But more than anything, this episode is about the friendships that do feel safe — the ones where you show up with nothing to prove and are loved exactly as you are. 

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In this episode, I’m talking about the summer that completely changed my life. After years of struggling with my mental health, convincing myself I was fine, and learning how to cope instead of heal, I finally got a level of help I didn’t think I “deserved.”

I share what led me to outpatient treatment, what it actually looked like, and how I began to understand the difference between surviving, coping, and truly healing. This episode is honest, vulnerable, and a reminder that you don’t have to wait until things are “bad enough” to ask for help.

In this episode, I’m talking about the kind of loneliness where you technically have friends, but never feel like you fully belong.

I open up about being the “floater friend” in high school, feeling invited but not chosen, and how that quiet hurt followed me into adulthood.

This one is for anyone who has ever felt outside of the group chat, the group photo, or the friend group entirely. You’re not alone.

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You know the chic version of me, now meet the not so chic one. In my very first episode, I’m reintroducing myself beyond the polished online version and sharing how lonely college GRWMs, viral TikToks, dating chaos, and my lifelong need to romanticize absolutely everything somehow led me here.

This episode is a little intro, a little unraveling, and the official start of the Not So Chic Club. For anyone who feels deeply, spirals occasionally, and is trying to make life feel beautiful anyway.

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In this episode of Not So Chic, I’m talking about the weird guilt of feeling calm in your early 20s, living at home, not going out every weekend, watching everyone else’s life look louder online, and wondering if I should be doing more. I get into the difference between peace and complacency, post-grad comparison, FOMO, trusting your gut, and why a quiet season might actually be the thing that saves you. Plus, this week’s Guest Therapy is about a situationship that feels like a relationship in private but a secret in public. Maybe I’m not behind. M...

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