My first experience with Linux was during my graduation in Electronic Engineering: I had to learn how to design field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA) using some tools that were able to run only on Red Hat Linux (I don't remember exactly which version, but this happened more or less in 2007).

My curiosity about Linux increased after that experience, but what I did was simply to install Ubuntu on a VM machine with the purpose of using it to learn new things, but I understood that installing an alternative OS in a VM is the better way to NOT use it :-D

in 2014, I eventually had a notebook that became my "real" personal computer (till that day I used my company laptop also for personal purposes ^_^' ) and decided to dual boot my Windows 8.1 installation with Ubuntu 14.10. Maybe it was a sign of the fate (I was born in October 14th) but the dual boot worked at the first try, with Ubuntu default OS. I started to use it more and more, and in 2017 I decided to compeltely wipe the Windows installation and have only Ubuntu on my machine.

My first love was Unity, then I switched to Ubuntu Budgie when Unity was replaced by a (not-yet mature) GNOME reinterpretation of Unity look&feel, then I come back to Ubuntu with 20.04. Meanwhile, due to the fact that my professional skills are more towards the SW than the HW, I'm having a lot of fun on scripting the most common things that I do (video conversions, "spring-cleaning" of my system, automate Ubuntu software installation and configuration after a clean installation, backup my data).

I still use Windows at work, but I think I'll never come back to it at home... next step is to convince my step-daughters to give a try to Ubuntu :-)