The New Old Me

Hi, I'm Kelli Anne

I used to be the girl who could land a standing aerial into the cleanest split you've ever seen. Now I'm the woman who celebrates making it through the day without a flare-up.

Born in 1987, I grew up as a competitive cheerleader—the kind of kid who thrived on precision, performance, and pushing through pain. That mentality served me well for years. Until it didn't.

When Everything Changed

In my late 30s, my body started sending signals I couldn't ignore. Daily panic attacks. Severe plaque psoriasis. Energy levels that no amount of sleep could fix. I was barely holding it together as a single mom to my energetic three-year-old son, Levi.

The diagnosis came in waves: early menopause before 40, thyroid issues, a small autoimmune condition, and food intolerances to gluten, dairy, eggs, and apples—basically everything I'd been eating my whole life.

Suddenly, so much made sense. The exhaustion. The inflammation. The feeling of not recognizing myself in the mirror.

The Turning Point

I booked a yoga retreat at Tybee Wellness not because I thought it would fix me, but because I needed containment. A place where I didn't have to be in charge. Where rest wasn't something I had to earn.

That weekend changed everything. Through breathwork, meditation, clean eating, and actual rest, my panic attacks stopped. My skin calmed down. For the first time in years, my body felt safe enough to exhale.

The retreat didn't fix everything. It gave me space to listen. And that changed everything.

Life in Savannah

Today, I live in Savannah, Georgia with my son Levi, who saved my life in more ways than one. I serve some Sundays with my father. I navigate motherhood, autoimmune chaos, and the reality that "effortless was seasonal."

I'm not dramatic. I'm not lazy. I'm just a woman learning that calm isn't something you unlock after you finish everything—it's something you choose, usually right after your body humbles you.

Why I'm Sharing This

Because too many of us have normalized feeling exhausted, anxious, inflamed, or disconnected from our bodies. We brush off symptoms because we're still functioning.

I'm here to say: functioning isn't thriving. And your body is trying to tell you something.

This is my soft launch of my calm era. No filters. No perfection. Just honest updates about navigating life when it doesn't go as planned.