Guess what this weekend is...

My birthday! I'll be 19!

Here is me as a baby:

me 10 years ago:
and me now:

happy birthday to me :)

I have been thinking seriously about deferring fall semester. I need a break from school. I am tired. I am not just tired but I am weary. All I want to do is to sleep. I feel like I've been carrying around this huge weight on my shoulders, this huge burden of stress, and I am at the point where I cannot move forward any longer. Being mentally exhausted is much worse, from my perspective, than being physically exhausted. I am completely worn down. School is hard and I feel like I am breaking under all the stress. Finals are coming up in 2 and a half weeks for spring term and I feel like I haven't learned anything because I've just been so tired. So as of right now, my plan is to come back here in August, and find a full-time job, and just work. Do menial tasks and let my brain rest. Because I am tired. I am really, really tired.

Love to all :)
Linda

I got my hair cut last week by the fabulous Josalyn! She's great.
This is me and her, fall semester at a BYU game:

Anyways...here it is...the new hair:

Other than that, nothing is really going on. My 19th birthday is two weeks from Sunday! I can't believe I've been out here in UT for almost a year...It'll be a year at the beginning of June! Crazy, huh? I moved downstairs into an apartment, so I have one roommate, named Sam. We get along really well and we're both pretty messy and laid-back so we don't get on each other's nerves. I'm still really close with my old roommates and I go visit them all the time. It's crazy to reflect on how many new friends I've made this year. It is also crazy to think about how many friends I have serving missions currently: Sam - Trujillo, Peru; Cory - Antofagasta, Chile; Matt - Tucson, Arizona; Juan - Las Vegas, Nevada; Ricky - Anchorage, Alaska; Tommy - Oaxaca, Mexico; Tyler - California; Jarett - California; Ethan - Baltimore, Maryland; Grant - Chihuahua, Mexico; Cameron - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
CRAZY. That is a lot of people, and I know of many more going out in the next few months. Exciting!

I got my grades for last semester! A-, B-, and two C+s. They could've been better, but they also could have been worse. I'm okay with them for now. So far I've been in spring classes for a week! I'm taking Missionary Preparation, Introduction to Public Health, and Human Physiology. It's definitely a full load but I know that if I apply myself I'll get straight As this term. The hardest part so far has been waking up for my physiology class -- it's at 10 a.m. For most people that is no big deal, but I have THE HARDEST TIME getting up before noon, no matter when I go to bed the night before. When I try going to bed early (10-11ish), I toss and turn all night long. So it's either not be well-rested or not rest long enough...I just can't win. During this term I'm going to be working about 12 hours a week....not bad! My mission prep class is amazing! I love it. That's really all that's going on here...

Linda