Thanks @TravellerG for starting this series of posts about our Local Guides Badges (and thanks also to @TusharSuradkar for referring me here).
When I began contributing as a Local Guide several years ago, I didn’t really have much interest in Badges as I was more focused ( 
) on photography. But due to my competitive nature, I soon found myself chasing achievement milestones and working towards master status in every badge became another Local Guide challenge. For me, the Master Photographer came first, and the Trailblazer and Fact Finder badges were pretty much a result of my photography- it’s frustrating when I would go to post a photo only to realize the place wasn’t even listed or was listed in the wrong location. This led to me submitting many edits and adding new places, so those badges came as a result. The category I initially had to work hard for was the Reviewer. I don’t frequent restaurants, bars or other entertainment venues, so my reviews seemed sort of forced at first (how often do you feel like writing a review about a gas station or a grocery store?) Eventually I found myself writing reviews about parks, beaches, trails, etc. and not feeling like every review had to be about a business establishment.
Once the Director badge was added, that became my biggest challenge. Having taken thousands upon thousands of photos as a Local Guide, it was difficult for me to reprogram my brain into taking videos- I always just forgot to shoot videos. (Sort of strange since I’m someone who’s worked over thirty years in the field of film and television-lol). So the Master Director ended up being the most challenging, for me. I think it took me a couple of years to reach that milestone.
Thanks again for posting this series and “Good Luck” to all you Local Guides who are working toward achieving these badge milestones!
Matt
