Great write up! Resteemed.. I think you hit on some important areas. Especially these two "I don't know how this all works. I feel invisible."
I think those are two of the biggest issues for new people!

I haven't had enough time lately, but I have been trying to go to the #introduceyourself tag every once and a while and I welcome new members. Though I agree, it's good to just interact more with others in general, even if they aren't new.