Only the smallest handful of writers get recognized in the street. Fewer magazines are publishing poetry and fiction than ever before, and they're paying less for it. So before you dive headlong into the surf, you might want to work out deeper, more soul-satisfying reasons for writing. In my mind, there's no more important human activity than the writing of stories and poems.
Writing is, by nature, salvific.
In other words, I believe the right words at the right time can save your life. I know this because the right words have saved my life. And they keep on saving it every day. Whatever answer you come up with for yourself, every serious writer must ask why. No answer will completely satisfy you.