Several months ago, Google began recommending I review some of the places it has located me at. Reluctantly, I started dropping ratings (stars only). I would then be notified to write a review for these places I’ve gone.
After a while, it started to become a hobby. I started to see how I was contributing to Google reviews, and how it was helped others looking into the places I’ve already visited.
From this stemmed my passion to help local businesses. We live in a town where starting a business and/or a hobby from the ground up is happening with regularity. And I started to notice how my reviews would go from a few hundred, to several thousand views! If I can be apart of Google’s Local Guide community, and provide feedback on the hardworking people of this city, and connect tourists and the local community to places I love, I will keep doing just that. 
I also want to take a moment to give a HUGE shout out to my favorite local coffee shop in town; Drip Drop Drink Cafe. Where hard work and passion can be seen as soon as you walk in the door. How inspiring it is to see such an amazing local business thrive in our beautiful city.
