These fees. Whom do they go to? The optional I read is not necessary at the moment but later may increase your priority in the network and speed up your confirmations for transfers.

I did notice that the fee for small transfers while it has gone down recently (0.0005) is not optional. Who gets this? It says it goes to the nodes. I thought each of us were the nodes. Do/will I get a small bit of BTC for keeping my client open and helping confirm transactions?