So.... where to begin?
Back in 2012, my older brother was running a Linux distro by the name of CrunchBang. It was a minimal Debian fork, and it was near perfect... but there was one gaping issue; the DE.
I am all for limitless customization, I'm all for going out and writing new extensions to software to make it better, but I was new to the platform and I didn't feel like writing a magnifier extension to help with my disability. I wanted something minimal, but there wasn't anything.
Of all the diestros out there, I decided I'd run Fedora. Fedora is a great distribution with a great community and the backing of Red Hat. It is probably the best distro for those trying to get acquainted with Linux as it is just the right amount of flexible while keeping things easy. It's a joy to work with honestly.
Progress a few years later to 2014. I've tried tons and tons of distributions; even Arch. But none of them compare. I can't find anything that suits me better. This is a.so around the time I get interested in Tek Syndicate. There were tons of reviews on hardware, and I started constructing my first computer; an X99 rig.
With a new computer, I was interested in a new distribution. One of the people here, @Zoltan, introduced me to SUSE, and I remember Wendell mentioning how great it was paired with KDE a few times, so I gave it go.
Let's get something straight here. KDE was not minimal but that's okay, because it just worked. It did what a DE should do and I found it very familiar to Cinnamon and Gnome 2. It was awesome... it still is. Very user friendly, and very amendable. It suits what ever you may be doing very well... though I believe Gnome 3 to still be the king of productivity however much more I prefer the traditional desktop.
SUSE itself is very easy for new users. It has a tool called Yast for managing everything, and it has a rolling release which I use to this day. It's not minimal, but I can get stuff done, and it runs the latest Linux kernel most of the time which is a plus for me because I am a kernel developer at heart, and I get patches straight from SUSE.
Gaming? What's that. To be honest with you, i do not game anymore. I can't really speak on the part of Linux here, though I do feel SUSE does it right by making the install of KVM so easy. You just need two GPUs to pass through to one of them. I have personally never done this. I run older classics like KOTOR in Wime when I need to. No time for gaming anymore.
Now here is where I have to commend Linux, and that is for Android development. I love working on custom ROMs. More specifically, I love working with CandyRoms, and being an integral part of their team. It's ridiculously fun to program, and here I can have fun doing it. I also maintain a kernel for my OnePlus X too. Having so many resources native to SUSE, it's a development ease, and I'm so happy that I don't game anymore because I get to learn as I'm having fun. I highly recommend you guys check out some of the awesome development going on out there. Everything I do can be found in XDAs development section for the OnePlus X.
That aside, in as I furthered my skills past 2015, that same summer, I was recognized by the Linux Foundation:
(I go by Trujillo now by the way. Not Murdok)
I was able to further my development skills, and later, I worked towards LFCS certification which unfortunately I didn't get as I'm too young to have a government ID.
But anyway, I feel as though Linux has been great for me. It's really helped me better my math skills as well through the available programming resources. On top of that, I've had a lot of fun using it, and I've met a lot of great people. Shout out to Tony Bishop (gimmeitorilltell) of CamdyRoms. He's been a great friend, and has let me use his server multiple times to compile ROMs rather than on my crumby old laptop lol (rig doesn't boot two years later, figures)
I hope you guys enjoyed this read, and I really hope to see more of you take on Linux. It's a great kernel, and there are several operating systems out there to suit your needs. I hope it becomes as important to you as it is to me, and I hope to do so,etching even bigger than Linux as I further my skills (though I doubt I will ever be able to)
Just remember this though OS snobs. There is a place for Windows, there is a place for OSX, and there is a place for Linux. It depends on your needs on a person. By trying so,etching new, you can be a jack of all trades, and that's more important than anything in a world of technology.
I plan to update this with future endeavors and stuff too. Sorry I've been away for a while. I just saw @kewldude007 mention here ^
And as for fixing problems on Linux, DIY. Seriously. Google it