Probably not so good advice but to stop ‘being’ a loser is to stop feeling like one. You’re doing amazing OP. The language, the diet change, getting into more hobbies. If you start believing you can do it, you can accomplish everything else. Mindset matters but the hardest part is starting, but you can do this!

I would definitely choose Linux Mint 100% :p

I started off with it and its learning curve wasn’t too steep. It uses Calamares for installation, features a built-in app store, and is very familiar to those coming from Windows.

I tweaked to look like windows xp, loved the retro feeling

why would it stop when it never was to begin with? lol