Vocation

And so begins my first blog post as a Marsh Associate! My name is Maritt Nowak, and I’m a senior majoring in international relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies and minoring in religion here at Boston University. I’m infinitely happy to begin my internship at Marsh, and especially excited to be working with the incredible staff here on vocational discernment in the coming months. I’m hoping to use this blog as a space to meditate on some big questions in a small way. Of course, the “higher mysteries” of life are usually pretty intimidating, but I like to think we are blessed with God’s presence every day, we just have to open our eyes to it.

As I settle back into the semester amid the bustle of new classes, the unfamiliarity of my first solo apartment and the excitement of beginning my new chapter at Marsh, I’ve set a goal I hope to carry with me this year. Be Present. Instead of just completing the page count for readings I’m assigned for my classes, I’m really going to try to get something out of each one. When I’m with my friends, I’ll set my phone aside so I can be a better listener. Every day, I’ll set aside time to be outdoors, listen to music, work on something I really enjoy or maybe just meditate in prayer.

Sitting here in the apartment I’ll call home for this academic year, listening to the Amtrak and Commuter Rail roll past, my mind wanders to the house my father grew up in. It belonged to his grandmother and I was blessed to visit it often as a child while my grandparents still lived there. When I was a little girl, I would climb up the cellar doors and slide back down, over and over again for hours. It seemed like that was my biggest mountain. This summer, I climbed Mont Salève in France. There’s no way of knowing where we might end up. I can’t say I like looking out my window at I-90 as much as the view of my grandfather’s vegetable garden from those cellar doors, but when I hear his favorite song, Sweet Caroline, blasting from Fenway Park, I know I’m in the right place.