I won a national award for Best Radio Presenter
Over the past week, a few articles have appeared sharing news I am still quietly getting my head around and it has made me want to pause and tell the story in my own words.
I won a national award for Best Radio Presenter. Sorry, what?
Even typing that still feels slightly surreal. Not because I do not believe it happened, but because of how I got here and how long it took me to admit that this was where I was meant to be.
“Louise has been recognised for her on-air presence, storytelling style and early impact in the industry.”
If you had looked at my life a few years ago, it probably made sense on paper. I had built a career, worked hard and followed the so-called ‘sensible’ route. I did what you are supposed to do when you are being a grown-up. From the outside, everything looked solid and settled. And for a long time I convinced myself that was enough.
But something never quite fitted. Radio was always there in the background, quietly tugging at me. Not in a dramatic, destiny kind of way, but more like that thing you keep circling back to when no one is watching. As a kid, I recorded my own little “shows” on a karaoke microphone plugged into a battered old boom box. Later, I borrowed an old answerphone machine (hello 90s kid) and decided it was close enough to a proper studio for me. There was no audience, I just loved it.
Somewhere along the way, I learned how to be practical instead. I learned how to build something impressive, how to keep going and how to ignore that small voice that kept saying this is not quite it. And then, in my thirties, I finally stopped ignoring it. Not because everything fell apart and not because I failed, but because I got honest with myself.
I got honest about what energised me and what drained me. I got honest about what I wanted my work to feel like day to day. So I started again.
Read the full article on Suffolk News
I retrained and became a radio apprentice in my thirties. I went back to basics and learned how things actually work. I asked questions, made mistakes and showed up every day knowing I was definitely not the youngest person in the room. At some point, I stopped seeing that as a disadvantage and started seeing it as part of what I brought with me.
Somehow, just twelve months later, this award landed in my hands.
What it means to me is not about status or validation or “making it”. It is about alignment. It is about that feeling when something clicks and you realise you are exactly where you are supposed to be. I keep coming back to this because it is the simplest and truest way I can explain it.
I love radio. If you cut me in half it would say ‘radio’ inside. I feel it is where I should be and I feel this award celebrates that.
That really is it. No spin and no overthinking.
This does not mean the fear has disappeared or that I suddenly have everything figured out. I still get imposter syndrome. I still have days where I wonder what I am doing. I am still learning constantly and I hope I always will be. But this feels like a quiet reassurance that choosing yourself is not reckless, that starting again is not embarrassing and that you do not need a perfect plan to move in the right direction.
If you are reading this and you are sitting with a nudge you have been pushing down, a curiosity, a pull, a lingering what if, I hope this gives you permission to listen to it. You do not need to burn your life down, justify it to anyone, or wait until it makes sense to other people.
You just need to notice what feels like home.
For me, that is radio. And right now, I am very grateful to be exactly where I am, microphone in hand, learning as I go.
