My Linux Journey: From Ubuntu to Daily Driver
Introduction
I have been using Linux from a long time, from my 9th grade, where I started with Ubuntu, like everybody else. For the first time, my PC felt instantly faster, without any upgrades. I got to know that my PC with Ubuntu installed used only 600-700 MiB of RAM, while with Windows 10 installed, the same PC used over 2 GiB of RAM when idle, which was a huge deal back then because my PC had only 4 GiB of RAM.
This PC was the gateway for all my experiments, from distrohopping to now being a server, it saw everything and was there with me throughout my journey. I had a lot of memories with that PC. Things started to take a turn when I started going to college. It was a Windows laptop, obviously, because I didn't want to deal with potential compatibility issues with college software and assignments. Or at least, that's what I told myself.
The College Compromise
The first few weeks with that Windows laptop were... frustrating, to say the least. Everything felt slow, bloated, and restrictive. The constant updates that would restart my laptop at the worst possible times, the telemetry I couldn't fully disable, the lack of a proper package manager—it all reminded me why I fell in love with Linux in the first place.
I tried using WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) for a while. It helped with development work, but it wasn't the same. It felt like a compromise, a bandaid solution to a problem that shouldn't exist. I was living in two worlds, neither of them fully mine.
About two months into the semester, during a particularly annoying Windows update that took 45 minutes during a time I desperately needed to finish an assignment, I made the decision. I was going back to Linux, college software be damned.
The Switch Back
I started with a dual-boot setup, keeping Windows around "just in case." I chose Pop!_OS this time—I'd heard great things about System76's work, and the NVIDIA driver support out of the box was a huge plus. The installation was smooth, and within an hour, I was back home.
The difference was immediate. My laptop felt like my laptop again. The battery life improved noticeably, the fans weren't constantly spinning up, and I could customize everything exactly the way I wanted it. I set up my workflow with i3wm (later switched to sway), configured my development environment, and everything just clicked.
The funny thing? That "just in case" Windows partition? I haven't booted into it in over six months. Every piece of college software I thought I'd need Windows for either had a Linux alternative, worked in a browser, or could be run in a VM for the rare occasions I needed it.
What I Learned
Looking back at this journey, from that first Ubuntu installation in 9th grade to now, I've learned a few important things:
Linux isn't just about performance. Yes, the resource efficiency is great, but what kept me coming back was the control, the transparency, and the philosophy. I know exactly what's running on my machine and why.
The community is incredible. Every time I've run into an issue, someone on a forum, wiki, or IRC channel has either experienced it before or been willing to help me figure it out. The collaborative spirit is unlike anything I've experienced in proprietary software ecosystems.
You don't need the latest hardware. My old PC from 9th grade is still running as a home server, hosting a few personal projects and services. It's running Debian stable, and it's been rock solid. Meanwhile, I've seen people struggle with Windows on much newer hardware.
The terminal is a superpower. Once you get comfortable with the command line, you realize how much faster and more efficient you can be. Piping commands, writing scripts, automating repetitive tasks—it's all incredibly empowering. The first terminal command I ever ran was
ls -ah
Ever since then, I've been hooked on the power of the command line.
Current Setup
Today, I'm running Arch Linux (yes, I know, "I use Arch btw") with a custom configured hyprland setup. I've got my dotfiles in a git repository, here, my workflow is fully keyboard-driven, and I couldn't be happier. The college laptop is now my daily driver for everything—development, coursework, entertainment, and more.
My old PC? It's still chugging along as my home server, running Docker containers, a media server, and a few other services. It's a testament to both the longevity of hardware when you use efficient software and the reliability of Linux as a server platform.
For Those Considering the Switch
If you're reading this and considering trying Linux, my advice is simple: just try it. Use a live USB, test it out without installing anything. See if it feels right for you. Don't let anyone tell you that you "need" to use a specific distro or desktop environment. The beauty of Linux is that you can make it exactly what you want it to be.
Start with something beginner-friendly like Ubuntu, Pop!_OS, or Linux Mint. Get comfortable. Then, if you want, start exploring. Try different desktop environments, window managers, distros. Break things, fix them, learn.
The journey might have its bumps—driver issues, software compatibility problems, the occasional configuration rabbit hole that takes an entire evening—but for me, it's been absolutely worth it. I'm in control of my computing experience, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Conclusion
It's been years since that first Ubuntu installation in 9th grade, and I'm still learning new things about Linux every day. The ecosystem is constantly evolving, the community is always pushing boundaries, and there's always something new to explore.
That old PC, the one that started it all, is still running in the corner of my room, its fans humming quietly as it serves web pages and runs automated tasks. Every time I SSH into it, I'm reminded of how far I've come and how much that first decision to try "that free operating system" changed my relationship with technology.
Here's to many more years of freedom, control, and the occasional late-night kernel compilation.