what's the point of short stories?

I wonder this more and more. I grew up writing them--spontaneously. I just sort of expressed myself that way. These were mostly adventure tales then. In college, I took writing classes. At Iowa, no less. (I grew up in Iowa, that's why I went there. It also happens to have one of the most mythologized MFA programs in the country). They teach you to write short stories there.

So...I have a bunch of stories I've written. Some are, in my opinion, not bad. Even good. I have recently, finally put some effort into trying to publish these. The results so far are not encouraging.

But...a bigger question. What's the point? Who reads short stories? Who reads these literary journals aside from people who also want to get published in them, because they also went to a school like Iowa for undergrad or for their MFA? If the stories I'd written were good enough to publish, then why not? But...it's clear I'd have to put a lot more work into getting better at this genre. Is it worth the labor? Might I be better off writing something easier, that more people would appreciate? Like...stand-up? Like, TV comedy (if I could get into it). Songs? Plays? Novels? Comic books? And, yes, blogs. That's partially why I'm writing this blog entry.

I don't know. Maybe I just need to keep trying to get hired at 'The Onion.'