Onset

This is the first time I've ever had a blog. I have a LiveJournal account, but I only signed up for it so that I could read my friends' LiveJournals when they were set as friends-only. But after two or so years of shameless voyeurism, I've decided that it's somewhat insensitive of me to go around reading about everyone else's lives without sharing anything in return. I have decided, however, to do this in the form of an actual blog instead of a LiveJournal in order to make it feel a little more public and open and a little less obsessive and adolescent. Not that I have anything against LiveJournals—in fact, I very much enjoy reading my friends' (sometimes obsessive and/or adolescent) posts. It's just to say that my blog will not contain cryptic posts that read as though they're in code, nor will it contain any sort of personal information that I wouldn't want a stranger to read.

Which isn't to say that I'm unwilling to tell you a bit about myself. On the contrary. My name is Jess. I live in Washington, DC. I realize that you are easily able to glean those two bits of information from the little sidebar to the right. I am 22 years old and I work as an editorial assistant and web developer for a non-profit that focuses on international public health. I grew up in Durham, North Carolina, and attended Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. I don't feel terribly inclined to continue in this vein, however, because I can't imagine that many people who don't already know me, and therefore also know this basic information about me, will be reading this blog.

Which brings me to the last thing I want to offer in this post: an explanation of its name. "Du wax loolu" is a Wolof expression that translates literally to "don't say that," but more colloquially means "shut up." I selected it in part because it is one of the only Wolof expressions that I retained from my five months in Senegal, but also because I wanted it to serve as a reminder that just because I think that I'm interesting enough to have my own blog doesn't mean that others will agree. The hope is that when I start to veer toward excessive self-absorption, the Wolof at the top of the page will serve its purpose and make me shut up.