[GTALUG] Why do you like your chosen distribution?

Hi all, Hoping your holidays were magical. My question comes from a discussion on a Linux and disabilities list. New person frankly bewildered by why there are so many Linux distributions at all, along side the benefits of say a specific kind of desktop over another. Got me wondering in general what motivates you to prefer your distribution of choice? That too, with my actually wondering indeed why there are so many Linux distributions, how all those editions helps someone outside the operating system make a choice. Just curious, Karen