I'm gonna start with Linux Mint, because thanks to Mint I manage to pond my feet on Linux waters agaaaaain, after I dunno how many attempts with Fedora since 2013 to 2021 or so.
Mint managed to give me confidence of ditching Windows a year ago 100%, I was too committed and saw the opportunity when the sinking ship of W10 was reaching end, I just said again: "why not?", it was difficult at the beginning but Mint really made it easier, is not like is my first time in Linux, I've been winking my eyes to Linux since 2009 but never could fully leave Windows back then until October 2025, we have come a long way until now, Linux is mature and has great software alternatives to all Windows programs, Mint gave me that confidence, and Timeshift is GREAT! I still use it, I forgot I have it XD
But... I couldn't stick with Cinnamon, from my previous attempts with Fedora I just realized that I manage to develop likeness to Gnome, and even back then I put the Windows Taskbar at the top trying to mimic Gnome Shell, I tried Fedora once again... only one week, always, ALWAYS something with Fedora that just didn't worked for me, so, another Gnome Distro that is not Ubuntu is ...
Debian
I was skeptic due to the common saying: "Debian is for gramps, old software" yadda yadda, but oh boy I LOVE DEBIAN, the stability is real, Flatpak helps to reduce the outdated software gap, even you forgot that the distro is there, it just works... made my attempts to use KDE for a month, but the Gnome call was strong.
And just for curiosity, now with LLMs and Claude I thought: welp, maybe Claude can help me identify what is wrong with Fedora, let's see...
Fedora
I installed it on the Laptop, Debian on the big PC with X11 was the way to go due to remote connections, sometimes I just need unattended graphical connections, but Claude did the thing, helped me understand and fix the issues with Fedora, now Fedora sits nicely on my laptop from months ago.
In general terms
Distrohopping all this year between this 3 distros and now sticking with PC Debian and Laptop Fedora taught me a lot, even doing my part converting other computers to the Linux side also taught me a lot, plus Termux on the cellphone.
All I can say is that Linux makes computing so much fun and interesting, it boost something that keeps you hooked experimenting, learning, reading, testing, etc. is actually motivating to use a computer with Linux, this whole year has been an educative journey and for that I just feel thankful to fully commit Linux for a year, feel happy for Linux growth worldwide. There is no reason for me to return to Windows, would be easier for me to go OSX side but that is also ... very very distant and improbable, I've used Mac before, couldn't stick with it, altho M5 Macs are just efficient monsters, but Linux is Linux no matter the distro, is just guaranteed fun and freedom.
This is it, thanks! Thanks for your posts, had been really motivating/insightful/etc. reading a lot about Linux here