Hi @renalexis. I feel the same anguish, the same joy, the same frustrations as you have shared here. But I do have this need to be a source of fun and joy for someone, anyone. So my philosophy is after I post if even just one person comments that he/she enjoyed it, that is more than enough compensation for me. I've been posting and sharing so many things in FB and Yahoo Mail for years and positively enjoyed doing it for free. Why should it be different with Steemit. More than the upvotes, I look at the number of views as the more important measure of how good the post was. The money will come sooner or later when you've worked hard, persevered and yes get a bit lucky. Be patient. It will come. For us. Meanwhile, be happy that people really enjoy your posts as I did reading this.