The following is written by Covington reporter Rebecca Gourley:

Everyone says your twenties are the best time of your life – the time where you can really figure out what you want to do and take your time with it.

But, honestly, that’s just a bunch of rubbish.

Yes, it is the time to figure out what you want to do with your life, but taking too long to figure it out is actually going to negatively affect your thirties, forties and fifties a lot more than you think.

The average demographic of our readership isn’t exactly a twentysomething. So, I’d like to ask you to share this with the twentysomethings in your life.

What I’m about to write is slightly outdated advice, but just go with it.

The decisions you make as a twentysomething will shape the rest of your life.

Let that sink in a little bit.

I’ll wait.

OK. So what does that mean for you twentysomethings? Do you need to have your entire life mapped out right now? Should you be in your forever career at this moment? Absolutely not. I mean, you can be. But don’t freak out if you’re not there yet.

This just means that the next few years are really going to matter. Even if you have no clue what you want to do with your life, start taking steps to go SOMEWHERE, anywhere really. Get a degree or certificate, learn something new, read a professional development book – I highly recommend “The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter—And How to Make the Most of Them Now” by Meg Jay – volunteer for a charity, fine tune your favorite hobby.

Make a goal board. Or at the very least write down your goals somewhere. This step is important. If you don’t physically write them down, they will only seem like far-fetched ideas or aspirations. Your goals will seem more attainable to your brain if you have them in writing and look at them on a weekly or monthly basis.

The next step is to figure out what you want your life to look like in five, ten years and then write down the smaller steps it’s going to take for you to get there.

In high school, I had a dream of being a photojournalist for National Geographic. But, I had this small-world view of that dream. I thought I could just be a reporter for a couple years and NatGeo would come knocking, which, obviously, didn’t happen.

Dreams take planning, patience and a proactive approach. If you’re waiting for something to happen in your life but aren’t taking the steps – or even crawling – toward that goal or vision, you’re not going to get there.

In the last year, I have learned more about myself by getting out of my comfort zone and reaching out for help than I ever would have staying quiet and semi-content.

Last October, I started a job I knew wouldn’t be a “forever” job, but I did it because I also knew it would open a few doors for me and I thought I could contribute to the job in a unique way.

I didn’t know it then, but this seemingly “in-between” job would shape my dreams and goals for the next decade. Well, that’s what I think it has done. We’ll see in 10 years if that’s truly the case.

My last day at The Reporter has come and gone as of this publication date. It’s time to move up, take that next step toward my end game goal – the five-year dream that’s on my goal board at home.

“Starting a new chapter” just doesn’t seem to cut it. It’s more like part two in a series of only somewhat related events.

Life is messy and seems disjointed most of the time, at least for me. But, I’m excited for this next segment of my life and I can’t wait to see where the rest of my twenties take me.