Feature Analysis: My First Time, Twice.

My First Time, Twice. Is a story about a young fourteen year-old girl who was on a mission to lose her virginity, but actually ended up finding her true self.

Photograph via Flickr by Laura Smith

Ariel Levy, is the central character in this story.

I would say that this story is an issue/idea feature, because this topic happens on a regular basis but is not usually reported on.

Ariel was always surrounded by older people, who constantly complemented her on how mature she was. Her peers at school thought the exact opposite though, to them, she was considered a nerd. She was on a mission to lose her virginity, she had already tried drugs and alcohol so she felt it was the next step. She resolves her conflict by having someone take her virginity at the age of fifteen, but she than lost it again at seventeen. To Ariel, the first time was not losing her virginity, because it was awkward, but the second time it was "different". 

The larger human theme to this story is self-discovery. After she lost her virginity she realized that she was only reaching out to have sex because her parents were going through a divorce and she wanted to rebel against them. 

"The thing I badly wanted wasn't sex but to be rid of my virginity, the last vestige of a childhood spent trusting and respecting adults, seeking their approval"-Ariel Levy.

This story is told in the first person narrative. It works extremely well because it is the authors story of self-discovery.

The authors point of view is that she has learned from her out breaks as a child because now that she is older she can look at the situation and now understand it, but even better, write about it. The authors voice is character development. 

This story made me feel curious because of the title. Than after reading the story I felt remorse for the girl because she did not know what she wanted, even though she thought she did at the time. I do not have any questions because this article was very well written and she provides all of the background flaws and she makes her characters relate to the story. 

Scrapbooking: How to make a wool poncho!

Left over fabric sparked an idea to make a wool poncho in less than 30 minutes. It requires no sewing and looks extremely stylish for this Fall season. There are step by step instructions on how to make one for yourself! 

News Round-Up

A Serious pumpkin shortage in the Northeast after Hurricane Irene destroyed hundreds of pumpkin patches. This means prices for pumpkins are going to go up significantly. Jim Murray, owner of the Applejacks Orchard in Peru, N.Y. says “Just get your pumpkins early, that’s all I can say,” he said. “It’s going to be a difficult season.”

Honey Bee's are dying off at an average rate of 34% a year, says Dan Rather, investigator on pesticides and bees. Scientists want chemical companies to prove that neonicotinoids are safe for bees.

Are restraunts responsible for your food allergies? Phoebe Damrosch says that restraunts will no accomodate and says that one and six percent of the population is allergic to a food item.


Texas backs off from serving last-meal banquets to prisoners on death row, says the LA Weekly.

Seven things to know about wine, key concepts and wonderful tips.

Tucson Sentinel

Last Thursday Sept. 15 my Writing for The Web class at Pima Community College met with Tucson Sentinel's Editor and Publisher Dylan Smith. We were required to come to class with three questions prepared. He was very short with his answers and he constantly wandered off to different topics. He also sat down in the front of the class so that no one could see him and he was very quiet while he was speaking.

1. Is Tucson Sentinel an online and print source?
-Only online. Smith said that it is too expensive to have delivery trucks and print on paper.

2. Since Tucson Sentinel is an independent nonprofit online news source, how do you make a living and/or pay your employees?
-99% of the employees are volunteers and the 1% that does receive money gets it for gas or absolute necessities. As for his living he has drained out his savings and is working on his retirement fund as well.

3. Who are the people that read your article the most?
-Southern Arizonan population.

Summary: Dylan Smith of the Tucson Sentinel was not a very informative publisher/editor. In my view he smashed journalism to the ground and made it seem impossible to make a career out of it. His website was extremely liberal in my eyes and his views on Fox news was very one-sided. He mentioned at the end of his discussion that we could intern for him but he made it seem like an absolute miserable time by saying that"if you want to get messed around with you can become an intern for us". Personally, I believe that Dylan Smith's presentation was extremely awkward and I would be perfectly content with never receiving news from the Tucson Sentinel again.

Body found in Santa Cruz may be man swept away in flood

A body was found in the Santa Cruz river on Friday which was believed to be a man that was carried away by the flood on Thursday in Tucson, AZ said KOLD. His body was found with a significant amount of brush and they are still trying to figure out who the man is. Firefighters managed to get a rope within a foot within the man but he could not catch on to it. Helicopter's tried to search for the man but ended the search after two hours.

By Michael Truelsen

Ten years after 9/11, how have the survivors healed?

The article that I read in first-person was about a 9/11 survivor. His name is Gerry Bogacz and he is a World War II veteran and  he survived the tragic day of September 11, 2001. He was in his office in the North tower on the 82nd floor when he saw the first tower being attacked. He explains that the first five minutes of getting to the stairwell was a blur and all that he can think about till this day is the people that were in his office that did not make it out. Gerry now conducts tours on ground zero, he says, "I feel a real need to somehow acknowledge my lost colleagues. In my tours I get to talk about them a little so people at least know them a little bit."  Gerry keeps the shoes that he fled in and wears a blue bracelet as a remembrance to the tragic day. National Geographic provided this moving story where you can see a photo of his shoes that he wore the day he survived the tragedy. God Bless America.

This photo is of Gerry Bogacz taken by Ira Block.

Cats, Lumberjacks, Open football season.

University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University opened up the football season on Saturday September 3, 2011. Our Wildcats and head coach Mike Stoops lead us to a victory with a score of 41 UofA and 10 NAU. Arizona football attendance is outstanding, averaging about 53,000 per game, said UA News. I was personally at my family's tailgate before the game and I was interviewed by on of the journalists there on how I believe our team is going to do this year. After I answered her questions she video taped my outfit because I was covered in red and blue from head to toe. I also attended the game and cheered them on to a victory, along with the other thousands of people that attended. The opening game was a success and I look forward to seeing the wildcats succeed and hopefully making it to the rose bowl!

                                                             Photo by Luke Adams.

Welcome to my blog!

My name is Aimee Melissa Ziegler and this is my blog for my Journalism Web Writing class.