Hello everyone,
Nice to (virtually) meet you all and thanks for taking the time to read my story!
I became a Local Guide back in 2016. At the time, none of my friends had heard of the program, but I was really excited to participate and to learn more. After four years, I reached Level 8 and it’s been a great journey. I was a moderator in the local Indianapolis community where I was a part of some fun discussions (Google+, we miss you) and embraced the opportunity to help the GMaps team test and improve the product by participating in some alpha and beta testing. I’ve been mostly a Local Guide behind the scenes ever since Google+ closed and rarely came to Local Guides Connect (which I’m planning on fixing) but my contributions to Google Maps have never stopped.
All my life, there has been nothing more exciting than traveling and exploring new places and sharing my experiences with others. I was born in Russia but later lived in Finland while getting my Master’s degree. During that period, I visited many countries in Europe (16 countries overall) and 2014, I moved to the United States (first, Los Angeles, then San Francisco, now I work in Indianapolis). While I studied in Finland, I had started a blog about my life in a new country and my travels in Europe. I continued posting to my blog as I explored the USA as everything was new and different. My Livejournal blog made it to the Top-10 in the North-Western region of Russia at some point as a lot of my friends and strangers loved to read my notes about life in America. I made a personal goal for myself to visit all 50 states by the age of 35 and so far I’ve made it to 30!
In general, I love reviewing things and my friends get a kick every time I post a review of different credit cards, cars, and even meal kits 
Local Guides has taught me how to take better photos and to notice cultural quirks in different places which is why no matter where I go, I take photos and videos to share with the community, my family, and friends. Since the program started, I’ve enjoyed getting monthly newsletters with photography tips, Google challenges, new features, and updates on how my reviews and photos are making a difference — and even how to help my city during crisis. Local Guides has also helped me learn and plan trips on numerous occasions, including my most recent adventures to Hawaii and Alaska. Last year, a friend of mine took his entire family to Eastern Europe and I helped create the itinerary. After a few hours, we had created a list of must-see places in Moscow and St. Petersburg (which you can access here!).
If there’s one thing that I’ve learned from being a Local Guide, is that it takes special people to devote time to sharing knowledge and enjoying gifting their secrets to strangers. I know each of us spends a lot of time uploading photos, videos, and writing reviews online — and in a way — we all make the world a better place by helping others make informed decisions, by sharing what we’ve learned about the world ourselves, and by keeping the maps up to date.
I hope you all stay healthy and safe and I’d truly love to say hi in person at the Summit in the Bay Area!