As much as it would sound fun traveling around San Diego for work, I was stuck being inside a car all day, my curious mind would be dulled by the same commutes, the formality of work & time waiting in the courts or for jobs to be sent out. For awhile my escape was going to places for lunch during my commute, visiting a park to clear my mind or by adding a place on Maps. But I utilized the downtime I had by adding photos and reviews to Local Guides. As silly as it sounds, it felt more fulfilling putting up informative content to Google Maps than posting a cool photo on Instagram or writing a review on Facebook. When you’re a Local Guide, you help out your community on the biggest travelling platform with the way you want to do it. For me it was helping others by alleviating stress from finding parking, narrate my experience at popular attractions, describing intricacies in dishes that differentiate from other great restaurants, & help people visualize the vibe or mood they desire to experience. The best part is that anyone can be a local guide, so you can see someone who is akin to your interests or speculate from a different perspective.
Because my workload varies, on the days where I had a lot of free time at work, I would be inspired by other local guides to post my photography. Form seeing other’s experiences, it aspired me to get out there to take a photo, edit it, upload & share my experience. I like using my Nikon D7200 for wide-angle photos, but my Pixel 2 XL is easier to use & takes amazing photos for that straight to the point, informative upload. Seeing the emails about my contributions making a difference is why I like to share my experience as a Local Guide to help out others.