QOwnNotes is a free, open-source, multi-platform, and feature-rich notepad that allows you to manage your notes, tasks, and edit documents in markdown.
Handwritten notes can be filled with history, and if you have tons of these, there are ways to digitize them and preserve them in their most primitive form.
Notepad is a very lightweight text editor for Windows with very few options. If you’re looking for more powerful alternatives, here are some to check out.
MyNotex is a Linux app provides the same core functionality as Evernote without the unnecessary bloat and expenses. It is a great Evernote alternative.