I'm back!

Surprise!!!! How long has it been since I've written on this thing? Haha. Three and a half years have passed since I last attempted some kind of digital record of my life. How do I even sum up? Here are some highlights. I served a mission in the Alpine German-Speaking mission (Austria and Southern Germany) for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints from June 2010 to November 2011. That experience has been the greatest privilege of my life thus far. You can read about it here: mission.carlidowns.com. I met unbelievably strong and wonderful people, learned German, lived in the Alps, and came closer to my God. It was a very sacred time in my life, and one that I intend to build the rest of my life upon.
Today was big. I attended the last class of my undergraduate career. Next week I will graduate with a Bachelors of Music in Vocal Performance from BYU. This was my dream. When I was a freshman, I would beg the Lord every night to please let me get into the vocal performance program. I had no idea how amazing the coming years would be. I had no concept of how breathtakingly beautiful and artistically fulfilling my study abroad would be. We just had a reunion. 4 years have passed, and we are all still great friends. Who could have known? Who could have guessed that my time in Vienna would lead me to missionary service? I first felt prompted to serve a mission while sitting alone in the Strassenbahn headed to church on a rainy Sunday in Wien. I won't write the details here. It's an extremely sacred part of my life, but if you ask, I'll tell you about it. Since my mission, I have had amazing musical experiences. I played the role of Pitti-Sing in The Mikado last June. I also played Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte last October. I loved every minute of it. I loved the challenge of that role, getting into Dorabella's heart and head, exploration through acting, the costumes, the wigs, the makeup, all of it. Now I'm graduating. I gave my senior recital on April 5th. I loved giving that performance. I felt very connected to the pieces I sang. I told some stories of my life, though the audience surely only picked up on a few. I sang about darkness, light, love, loss, and Vienna, of course. I'm so grateful for my experiences, and look forward to whatever the future holds.