Don't despair, do it with passion. Remember, there are thousands of newbie who currently never get a single merit even if they have been here for years with thousands of posts. But you are new and have got 1 merit, if you do it right as directed then you will get more to reach member rank, full member and also above rank.
In this case, I agree with you. Everything takes effort and perseverance because this is the essence of real learning. There are very few users who don't take much time (years) to learn about bitcoin and the technical knowledge about it, but I'm pretty sure they have a supporting background behind it like their formal or non-formal education.
For general users like myself and other users it obviously takes time and stages to really gain knowledge about bitcoin. Apart from getting merit and rank up, this knowledge is very important if we are someone who is interested in bitcoin and this forum. One good saying from me is you can because you used to do it, without trying it's just bullshit.