My First Linux Experiences

Like many of us out there, I did not start using Linux when I first started using computers, nor did I start using it when I first learned of it. Windows, what I had been using, worked fine and there seemed to little reason to want to switch over. The benefits were not explained properly to me, or I was too inexperience to need anything more than what the Windows desktop offered.

That changed when I heard about the Raspberry Pi, the first time I got a chance to try something new. I had so many crazy ideas for a tiny, low power computer I could fit inside my pocket. I did not have the know-how to do anything more than turn it on and press some buttons, but it was great. I got very interested in the single board computer scene, and got to dive into Linux a little more heavily with Debian 7, trying to do little projects. While confused and breaking more things than fixing them, my eyes were beginning to open.

After that, I got a job in IT where I had the oppurtunity to learn about the Linux system through usage, and under the mentorship of someone who could get me out of most trouble I could get into. From there, I was able to take all I had learned to my homelab, building more and more complex deployments ready for production. It was then that I was able to appreciate what Linux and other open and free projects mean to the world. Not evangalised, but motivated to spread the good word I have been using and honing my skills in Linux ever since.