Thoughts on phds and life

Phd research is incredibly lonely.  As with undergraduate learning, everything that someone reads or learns about brings new questions. Only this time, no one has the answers - the answers have to come from your own mind, creativity, and struggle.


Recently, my work supervisor and phd advisor have both asked me to give them statements of intent - a high-level and accurate plan of everything I hope to accomplish. 

It seems like it'd be easy but to be honest, I have no idea what to reply.  I've grown so used to the convenience of people telling me exactly what needs to be done, that I'm at a loss when given the reigns to control my own time. 

For work and school, it seems like a tractable problem that can be easily solved, given some time and thought.  Life is a different story.  Like many of our friends, we've reached a point where we are free to make big decisions about our lives.  I have many thoughts and no conclusions.  Google doesn't seem to provide any useful results for "What on Earth do I do now?"  The best I can do is to enjoy the process of finding out.