I thought myself prepared, as this is my first effort as a columnist for The Evening Sun, to avoid rambling. Yet I’m hoping for some leniency in this regard as I get down to business and attempt to address some issues which, in my opinion, are significantly impacting our community and the country as a whole.

A little background.

I began writing for our hometown daily newspaper nearly 10 months ago, a position I never really expected to find myself in and one that has changed my life inexplicably. To put it simply, when our esteemed editor first shook my hand and said “Welcome to the team,” I was caught up in a whirlwind of emotions – excitement, intimidation, hope and more than a little fear. At the time I had no idea what to expect.

Having been born and raised in Norwich, I’ve ultimately found the experience to be educational (to say the least), emotional, enlightening and most of all, surprising. I’ve always been a touch partial to my particular view of the world and the environment of the newsroom has had a profound impact on those attitudes; it’s changed me in ways I can not even begin to describe.