Happy Monday, Chenango County. Today is day one in the driver's seat for this gal, and I'm grateful for having been given this opportunity. As of today, yours truly is the interim Managing Editor of The Evening Sun, the newspaper I've grown up reading.

Many thanks to Brian Golden, Shawn Magrath, Kevin Doonan and Pat Newell for each being terrific and helpful in their own ways. Due to these recent staffing changes, things are pretty hectic here in the newsroom. Senior reporter Shawn Magrath deserves kudos for being great at his job, and for having steady hands with a mug of hot coffee. The latter may or may not be true, depending on the day.

Consequently, we have an immediate opening for a full-time staff writer. If you're qualified and interested, please see the ad in the paper and respond accordingly. In my honest – albeit biased – opinion, it's a really fun gig with the opportunity to experience various different facets of the community.

Shawn, Pat and I - along with the various other contributors to the publication – will be working hard to put out a quality paper each day for you folks to read.

I'm not sure, in the 122-year history of The Evening Sun if there's been a 24-year-old, female editor. If not, hooray for firsts.

That being said, I may be young to some of you, but I'm not all that naïve. I'm super friendly and look forward to building relationships with members of the various organizations county-wide.

“30 Seconds,” the paper's reader reaction column, has been a point of contention for, well, some time now. I'm all about freedom of speech and freedom of the press and all that fun stuff, but I also enjoy respect and accountability. I understand folks like the anonymity of the platform, and that's cool, but if you have something to say to the community, I'd urge you to turn it into a letter to the editor. Be it a gripe or grace about the Common Core, natural gas, health care reform, upcoming elections, or any other happenings you read about in the paper, it's welcomed. I'm absolutely looking forward to hearing the varying opinions of the area, so please email your thoughts to me or news@evesun.com (please put “Letter to the Editor” in the subject line). The letter policy is printed on page 4, and letters can also be mailed to the address printed.

It'll be my birthday on Thursday, and I never thought at 25 I'd be editor of the county's daily newspaper. It's honestly super exciting. It's not my style to disappoint, so I'll do the best I can with what I've got.

I said I wasn't all that nervous about taking the reins when I was asked. Sure, it'll be different and time consuming, and all that jazz, and I probably should be nervous – but right now I know there isn't enough time in the day for that nonsense. I'll absolutely give you folks a newspaper filled with as much content as this staff can manage. I will also still spend an hour painting my nails when I feel like it, babysit my wise four-year-old friend when asked, spend time with family and friends, and go on random weekend adventures to New Hampshire when I feel the urge (don't freak out folks, I can still check “30 Seconds” from there). I'm a soon-to-be 25 year-old; passionate about both this job and life, and I'm good with balance.

I just had a quick flashback through my life. When I was four I wanted to fly Boeing 747s. It turns out I don't have terrific vision without glasses, and I changed my mind. I had a brief stint where I wanted to work in an emergency room, but later realized I pass out when I donate blood. Defense attorney crossed my mind, but left it when I realized I much prefer using the written word as a voice. I went to college for psychology, a nice baseline but not a career for me.

This is a pretty nice fit.

You know, there's those folks in your life you sometimes wish you never met, but without these people there is no way you could be where you are today. I traced back through my history and found the exact moment in time in 2007 where the domino effect to this very moment began. If I had not made the decisions I did that day – and said the exact words I did – I would not have experienced all I have, fostered a quiet passion for writing, met certain individuals, cut ties with certain people, and become as opinionated and confident as I am today. Basically what I'm saying is sometimes people you never thought deserved the least bit of credit turn into pretty important contributors to your life's events.

Okay, enough with the retrospect. Time to keep things moving forward; evolution not revolution.

Again, I'm happy to be on board and working with a great team. Feel free to contact me via phone or email if you'd like, I'd be happy to respond accordingly as soon as possible.

Enjoy the hoodie weather while it’s here.

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… @evesunashley