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My family knew me for my wicked dancing skills and creative arts. My High school mates knew me to be a musician, dancer, visual artist and an entertainment freak (as I was even elected as an entertainment prefect), and college mates thought I was just a shy chubby girl who loved to rock boots and sneakers to lectures and for some reason thought I was fit to be their class rep. Me on the other hand, was struggling to find myself. All I knew was that I loved to entertain people, and a part of me was dying to come out. Whatever that was, I had no freakin idea.

Now, transforming into a radio personality on the Takoradi Tech. University Campus Radio for 3yrs 6mons (Oct. 2016 – 2019) is a mystery yet to be unraveled. How did I manage to snag such a gig, you ask? Well, I’m not going to give you the “I’ve always listened and followed radio shows and had the passion for it since my childhood” story because tbh my story doesn’t come any closer to that. I had never dreamt of being a radio personality, not even to talk about which radio shows,on-air personalities, and frequencies I adored. Of course, I had listened to BBC news from the stereo in my dads car almost every morning to school but did it ever click I’ll be in there someday playing your favorite hits and interacting with you?… Yup! You guessed it…No!

The journey begun when a very good friend ( for some reason, lecturers and mates assumed he was my boyfriend) named Douglas Akuffo Addo aka Opoolopo (a popular guy on campus) suggested we visit the manager to submit a proposal to host an entertainment show at our campus station which I didn’t even know existed at the time. At first I felt reluctant to accept this proposal because I was struggling with Social anxiety, low self esteem and had no idea about the nitty-gritty of the radio world( Like how the F*** was I going to pull this off) On a second, third, fourth thought, I remembered quite a number of mates who’d say to me, “Esi, you have a nice voice ooo; you should do radio”( Wait whaaat!!? Radio?? Voice??? lol) All I thought I knew at the time was good music, so Yeh! what’s the worst that could’ve happened. A journey into the unknown was about to begin, and my inner voice was jubilating already.

One fine Friday afternoon, Opoolopo (Remember him? My supposed boyfriend…) and I made a trip to the Station to meet the Manager ( we had already met him few days earlier to introduce ourselves and he was looking forward to meeting us). Seated at the reception area waiting for our turn to see the Boss, I could hear my very own heart pounding and even in the air conditioned room, my palms were starting to feel sweaty. Listening to the faint music playing through the speakers of the receptionist’s telephone made me feel a lot better.

“Mr Anim will see you now. Follow me please”, said the wide hipped dark skinned receptionist with a broad smile, emerging through a doorway which seemed to have led to the main office. We finally got to meet the manager and the last words I remember clearly after that meeting was, “ You’re reporting on Monday!” Just like that!!??? Wait! No trials, No training?? I mean, I knew how people were desperate to get radio gigs like this (yes! I did some background checks) and here I was getting it without breaking a sweat. At that moment, I didn’t know whether to be excited or frightened. I left the office with mixed feelings not sure of what I was getting myself into. I had poli poli two days to prepare! Whew!

“W wel- Welcome to -to Radio Premier.5 sorry 100.5fm sorry about that. M My name is Esi Anim-Biney also known as Missi. It’s 1oclock sorry 1 past the hour…sorry…”, I stammered and my fingers trembled as i held on to a studio equipment called the console (that I didn’t even know how to operate) I didn’t realize how difficult it would be. I was so nervous and my intro SUCKED! I remember gulping down gallons of water to moisten my dry mouth and Promzy the technician telling me to take it easy and I felt so embarrassed and what not. I began to sweat profusely and couldn’t wait to vanish from that uncomfortable situation. I gave it another try and fumbled with the words and prayed the day would be over. I had wanted to give up already. Never imagined speaking in front of a microphone in a small chilled room will make me this frightened.

As days, for what seemed like years went by, I began to improve and heard pleasant feedback from people who listened to my showtime on campus and beyond. I started receiving random visits from strangers who wanted to see the voice behind the microphone and it motivated me to read more and more about my new found love. All of a sudden, I wanted to be best and unique in my presentation skills so I started listening to top radio shows around the globe. My colleagues at the station also did put me in check. It turned out I was the first presenter to ever speak on the station since it’s establishment and having this alone in mind made me invest so much time and energy into my new passion…Well the rest is history.

I express my sincere gratitude to my Hero, Mr. Joshua Anim, the General Manager Of Radio Premier100.5fm for having given me the opportunity to bring out a piece of me which was unknown to myself. He defended and believed in me,stayed by my side when others turned their backs on me,he coached and advised me when I needed it most and he still does. I’ll be forever grateful to him for being patient with my stubborn self.

https://ghanandwom.net/supreme-africa-premiere-fm-impact-youth/

I am still on my journey and there’s no better time sharing this story with you now. I made sacrifices to get to where I needed to be today and looking back now, I have no regrets whatsoever. So if you are currently on your journey of finding your voice and you feel stuck, don’t give up. Just keep reminding yourself that everything happens for a reason and it only gets better. I hope pray you find a life or career path that’ll bring you great joy and receive all the support you need.

Thanks for making time to be here.

With love…xx Missi.