I'm so annoyed with the "quantity benchmark." I wish everyone on Medium could slow down! I don't have time to write OR read at the pace that Medium seems to demand. (Working mom life, right?) I started on Medium in November and committed myself to writing one quality story a week. But I wonder if I can ever "flourish" here with that cadence. I really try not to obsess over stats, but when I pour my heart and soul into a story only to hear deafening silence on the other end of it, it can be hard to keep up my morale! For what it's worth, I'd love for you to keep writing, I enjoy your stuff! :)