Quick summary list
Getting that micro-rant out the way, I have used linux in at least some capacity for about 5 years. First time I used linux was when I wanted to play minecraft but the only computer I had was a chromebook (this was way before chromeOS was capable of running anything that wasn't google suite), so after doing a lot of research, rooted my chromebook, and installed and started to duel-boot ubuntu with the default chromeOS installation. I ended up just staying in ubuntu most of the time because I liked it more
I got a new laptop some time later and attempted to install linux on it, but it refused, and I ended up forgetting about the whole thing until another few years later, when I needed a new laptop that was cheap enough that I could bring it to school without being as worried about it being damaged, broken, or stolen. I ended up getting an old thinkpad t440 for less than 100 dollars which I ended up putting Xubuntu on because I was too lazy to pirate windows and really didn't want to pay for it. It worked great for school, and I started to get more expirenced with the OS, until eventually I decided that I wanted to switch to a more """"advanced"""" distro (clueless).
NixOS was already sort of a meme among the friend group I was (and still am) in, with a certain individual making refrences to the flavor of linux whenever possible, and eventually, I bit, becoming the first in the group other than the individual in question to "take the nixpill"
After a somewhat confusing install I managed to get the system up and running. My opinions on nixOS? It's great as a server OS, but not so much as a workstation. I used it for a few months before eventually switching back to Xubuntu, and then to the OS I still use to this day
I decided to try out void linux, a minimal systemDless distro which I still use to this day. I highly reccomend void linux to any moderately expirenced and above linux user who wants an OS that largely stays out of their way. The repos are pretty far reaching for it being a (relatively) new distrobution and most things that you would want packaged are packaged. The only annoying things you will run into is incompatibility with some openssl programs because void uses libressl instead.