I've been a long time Gentoo user. Years. Gotta be over a decade now.
Back in the early '00s, I tried a few Linux distributions... SUSE, Centos, another one or two that I can't remember. Each one, I was left at the desktop after a successful install wondering exactly what do I do now.
Friend recommended Linux From Scratch, so I took a couple months and went through the process, three times. First time, I had no clue what I was doing. Second, I started to get a hang of it. Third, I breezed through, then tried to install X.org and all of its dependencies by hand. Taught me a lesson of the value of a package manager. I did end up installing it successfully, then contemplated a DE, but decided to switch distros.
Did a bit of research, found Gentoo, and stuck with it. Updating it isn't a pain as long as it's done regularly, and I enjoy having the control and just a bit of feeling like I have some clue as to what's going on. I don't get that with a distro focusing on precompiled binaries. It's also given me the experience to compile software from scratch if I need to.
_prick /prĭk/ noun
... A small, sharp, local pain, such as that made by a needle or bee sting ... A pointed object, such as an ice pick, goad, or thorn. _
Suppose calling men bees is more polite than calling them pricks..