This is extremely relatable, I still haven't found a way to properly answer the "what do you do for a living?" question. I tried everything (sports bettor, investor, trader, crypto, making money on the internet, work from home, building passive income,...), but nearly everytime it creates some kind of short circuit in peoples brain and they are unable to process it somehow leaving them with a puzzled look.
Being able to answer that question with "I'm a writer' alone makes me want to get a lot bigger on Steemit so it would not be a total lie.
Absolutely. People just don't get it. It's actually a very difficult question to answer, but if you're in a mainstream career you just respond with your job title and that seems very normal. It works for 99% of people but not if you're living outside the box :)