Oh yeah, you can absolutely do it in Debian.

My argument is that there is a lot new on the table for someone like me, who was just a kid who liked computers. I got Linux because Windows Vista was way too heavy for my laptop (+ Chrome, GIMP, etc. had Linux-exclusive 64-bit builds.)

My first experience with Ubuntu was playing around with GNOME, and then Unity when it came out on my next install. When I learned there were dozens of other DEs for me to try, I felt like a kid in a candy shop.

What's better is that I could even play Runescape and Minecraft again! It went from "6 fps and then my laptop turns off" to "like 12fps" which was sweet.

When I made the realization that almost anything I did could be written down to a .sh file and repeated, e.g. setting up a fresh install, my brain fucking exploded.

I'm a wizened Linux enjoyer now and I basically agree with you, but when I was a preteen, Ubuntu was the OS that was twice as fast, had a dozen different skins, made it dead-easy to install things, and also let you script it.

... Speaking of, I wonder what new DEs are out there...