Merry Christmas to all celebrating! 
And to everyone, I also want to wish you all a very blessed and happy end of the year celebrations! 
We are now one week away from seeing the end of 2024 and welcoming the start of 2025, and I wanted to take this opportunity to start a new topic thread for each of us to share in the comments below our 2024 recap story and/or our 2025 wishes and hopes!
To help with your replies, I’ve provided a convenient template that you can copy and paste. In the template, I’ve provided some prompts within the <!-- --> code. You don’t need to delete this code when you’re writing out your answers as the <!-- --> code basically hides it from showing. Just write your answers in the blank lines beneath each prompt.
You don’t need to answer all the prompts! They are there for guidance only and if you want to write something else, that’s also fine! Also, please use the Show Preview button to check everything before posting! 
Tap here to see the Template
<!-- PROMPT: Brief introduction e.g. where you are from, how many years in the Local Guides program -->
<!-- PROMPT: Share 1 to 5 images that reflects how 2024 has been for you e.g. photo uploaded in 2024 with the most views, photo from a meet-up, a selfie, a screenshot of your contribution stats. Don't forget to add captions -->
<!-- 2024 RECAP -->
<!-- PROMPT: As a Local Guide, were there any memorable moments that you were happy/proud about? Briefly describe them -->
<!-- PROMPT: Did you make any new Local Guides friends? Tag them in your answer and describe how you met them -->
<!-- PROMPT: Do you have any Local Guides that you would like to thank and show your gratitude? Tag them and share your gratitudes -->
<!-- 2025 LOOKING AHEAD -->
<!-- PROMPT: In terms of your activities/contributions as a Local Guide, what are you hoping to achieve in 2025? Is there an area that you're wanting to focus on and improve on? Briefly share your answer -->
<!-- PROMPT: Local Guides program is going to celebrate its 10th birthday on 15th January 2025. Are you going to plan anything special? Share your plans/wishes/hopes for Connect and its community -->
<!-- PROMPT: Google Maps is going to celebrate its 20th birthday on 8th February 2025. How can the Local Guides community celebrate this milestone? Share your answers/wishes/hopes for Google Maps -->
Using the template, here are my recap for 2024 and wishes for 2025!
2024 has been quite the wild adventure for me. I was co-hosting the #EuroMeetup2024 event in Manchester 
with @PeteMHW and met around 35 Local Guides from all over the world. That was one epic meet-up that I had so much fun (and headaches) organising and hosting.
After that meet-up, I embarked on a 34 days solo backpacking trip across Europe covering Lisbon and Porto (Portugal 
), Salamanca, Bilbao, San Sebastian and Zaragoza (Spain 
), Andorra la Vella (Andorra 
), Montpellier, Marseille and Nice (France 
), with lots of opportunities to explore, discover and review places via Google Maps! I’m still playing catch-up!
And then in October, I headed out to Australia 
to visit my sister with my family and I used the opportunity to catch up with Local Guides based there. So, it was with great joy that I got to visit @MariaNgo whom I met at the Connect Live 2018/2019 events and caught up with Connect Moderators @PennyChristie, @PaulPavlinovich and @iyudhi. 
I am definitely super thankful for all the friendships that I’ve made through the Local Guides program and I cannot wait for what 2025 will bring! I am definitely super excited for the 10th birthday of Connect and the 20th birthday of Google Maps. These are two major milestones and I already have some ideas to bring to the community to celebrate them! More will be revealed soon 
So, how has 2024 been for you? And what are you looking forward to the most in 2025? Share your story and your wishes in the comments section below. Feel free to use the template if you need some inspiration. Let’s end 2024 with a positive sharing of our adventures with the Local Guides program! 
So much to learn and share!
.