She Waited. She Bloomed. She Took the Stage.

WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH

The Story of Juli Harkins — and Why It's Never Too Late to Become Who You Were Always Meant to Be

Have you ever watched someone you love step fully into themselves — and felt your whole heart burst open with pride? That happened to me this Valentine's Weekend. I sat in a theater, tears streaming down my face, watching my dear friend Juli Harkins command the stage as Lena Younger in Lorraine Hansberry's timeless masterpiece, A Raisin in the Sun — a role originated by the legendary Claudia McNeil and later embodied by Esther Rolle, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, and Phylicia Rashad. And I thought: This. This is what blooming looks like.

Juli's story isn't just beautiful. It's a blueprint. And this Women's History Month, I want you to sit with it — because I believe it holds something important for you.

A Life Fully Lived — On Someone Else's Timeline

I've known Juli since high school. Even then, she had a presence — the kind that fills a room without trying. A Yale graduate with brilliance and grace in equal measure, Juli built a life of extraordinary purpose. She devoted over 30 years to a career in healthcare, all while raising her family and standing as a steadfast partner to her husband, a well-known and deeply respected Black preacher. She raised two accomplished, talented daughters. She gave. She served. She showed up — for everyone.

But somewhere in the quiet hours, there was a dream still waiting. A dream to perform. To act. To inhabit characters and tell stories from the stage. A dream she had put on a shelf labeled someday.

Sound familiar? How many of us have a someday shelf?

The Moment She Said Yes to Herself

Four years ago, Juli called me. She was ready. Now in her 50s, she wanted to transform her life — to finally pursue the dream she had lovingly deferred. She asked me to coach her. And I said yes with my whole heart.

What happened next took my breath away. Juli didn't just refine her vision and set new goals — she made a move that most people only dream about. She walked away from a 30-year career in healthcare. And rather than jumping straight into another safe landing, she took a temporary position with an investment firm to create the space and freedom to pursue her dream. Then, in the middle of a global pandemic, she enrolled in acting school.

In her own words:

“For the first time in my life, I quit my job without having another job lined up and then enrolled in acting school. I left the safe and familiar to become an actor. I have stepped into my stride, and I am not looking back!”

Read that again. Let it wash over you. She left the safe and familiar. That is the definition of courage. That is what it looks like to bet on yourself.

I was so moved by her courage that I joined her for the first level of acting class. (Full disclosure: I'm trained in Improv, so this felt like coming home for me too.) But watching Juli — watching her lean in, take risks, be vulnerable, and grow in real time — reminded me why I do the work I do. Transformation isn't a concept. It's a choice you make, one brave step at a time.

Opening Night, Tears, and a Standing Ovation

This Valentine's Weekend, I sat in that theater and watched Juli take the stage as Lena Younger — a role that demands emotional authority, spiritual depth, and the kind of gravitas that can't be manufactured. And Juli brought her own magnificent truth to it.

I cried. I'm not ashamed to say it. They were tears of joy, of pride, of recognition — because I had witnessed the behind-the-scenes. I knew what it took to get to that stage. I knew the doubts she quieted, the career she walked away from, the hours she invested, the courage it required to say I am an actor out loud for the first time at 50-something.

From a vision to pursuit of passion and success. That is what blooming looks like in real life.

🥚 Golden Eggs: What Juli's Journey Teaches Us

Juli's story holds wisdom that I want to plant in you today. Here are the seeds:

1. Your dream has a shelf life — and it's longer than you think. The years you spent building your family, your career, your community, didn't bury your dream. They seasoned you for it.

2. Crisis is not a reason to wait — sometimes it's the catalyst. Juli enrolled in acting school during a pandemic. There is no perfect time. There is only the decision to begin.

3. Vision work is sacred work. Clarity about who you want to become is the most powerful tool you have. Write it down. Speak it aloud. Let it lead you.

4. Community matters. You don't have to do this alone. Find your people — your coaches, your cheerleaders, your fellow dreamers. Even I showed up to acting class. Transformation is a team sport.

5. You are never too old to learn, to pivot, or to bloom. Say that again. Let it settle in. Your 50s, 60s, and beyond can be the most radiant chapter yet.

What Are You Still Waiting For?

This Women's History Month, we celebrate the women who changed the world. But I also want us to celebrate the women in the middle of changing their own world — quietly, courageously, one acting class at a time.

Juli Harkins is one of those women. And if she can do it — after decades of pouring herself into others, in the middle of a global crisis, at a stage of life the world told her was past the point of reinvention — then so can you.

What dream is still sitting on your someday shelf? What would it mean to take it down, dust it off, and say: It's time?

You don't need perfect conditions. You don't need permission. You just need the decision — and the willingness to grow.

Because darling, wherever you are in life, you can still bloom.

With love and strategy,

Cecilia | The Strategy Chick®