A young 16 year old girl set out from home to town to run some crucial errands for her mother. She wasn’t sure she was listening when her mother gave the directions to where she was being sent. And all she had was her fare and phone…
That was me about some years ago. Shy as I was, I turned to the only thing that I knew wouldn’t judge or shame me for not knowing exactly where I was headed: my phone. And I opened an app I had never really known what its purpose was. I typed in my destination and the errands were successfully carried out. That app was Google Maps. As I walked home later that day I got a notification asking me if I could answer some simple questions about where I had been. And that’s how I became a Google Local Guide.
Thus far, I’m glad I “bumped” into Google Maps. I still use it when I need to go somewhere whose position on the earth I’m not sure about. And yes, I may still be a bit shy… But being a Local Guide has made me part of something greater. Like those who came before me: adding places to the map, giving reviews and adding photos I believe I’m helping some shy girl, or boy, out there like me who is looking for direction (literally) and, in some way, that might just be what puts them in the right direction in life.
The young lady goes back home. Having achieved the purpose of the day, she felt accomplished. Now with her phone in her hand, she too had the power to help another in need of direction. What she was yet to do gave her even greater sense of purpose .
For what’s feels greater than being helped if not helping someone else?