Always Believe in Your Selfie — A Short Intro to DJ Hopkins

A journey of self-discovery or creative madness?

I was a shy, introverted kid growing up in the UK…. last century, which is practically the stone age in terms of technology! Always drawing, painting, reading and writing and other weird stuff the cool kids didn’t do.

So I did what any weirdo introvert kid would do. I went to Art School. Wow….that was the place for me, it was full of weirdo’s. Some even weirder than me…was that even possible, apparently yes!

I also, played in some bands. A couple even achieved a little local fame on the radio and in the newspapers. I was having a ball.

That party had to end though and I ended up meeting a girl and left the UK for Australia in the 90’s. I think I left part of myself back in England because I entered a more mainstream lifestyle in Australia.

I built a business in ‘Interior Architecture’ one of the more mainstream creative weirdo businesses you can do, if you know what I mean. I was still playing in a band and I started a family…….life was good.

It was all going swimmingly until the early 2000’s when I came close to having a nervous breakdown due to some insane business pressures.

After all I’m a creative not a business person. Big lesson learned there!

I was trying to do too much at once, running the business, playing in a band and a music producer on top of raising a family.

My marriage then fell apart and when the Global Financial Crisis hit in 2007 I was like ‘that’s it, I’m done’ so I closed everything down, sold up and got divorced. “My dark night of the soul moment”.

But what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and there were a few things that helped me through that period. I got into meditation, eastern philosophy and personal growth. I became more creative again and started exploring my spirituality.

I had given up the music because that was a big factor in wrecking my marriage. Late, nights, partying and generally being a bit of a rebel without a cause!

So I did what my soul had been longing to do. I started traveling SE Asia and I eventually found my spiritual home — Thailand.

I began a new path and fate led me to a very special person in my life. She saved me from myself and expanded my spiritual journey.

My wife is Thai and she is a Buddhist. I’m not a Buddhist….maybe a bit Buddhish though. Together we travel Australia and Thailand together, learning as we go. She’s like my personal tour guide to enlightenment!

Then I thought, why not document all of these experiences and the wisdom I’ve gained along the way? So, I’m putting pen to paper (or ipdad), and hope that some of it might resonate with you, or at least make you laugh.

Although let’s be real, it’s probably just a collection of ramblings from a creative madman.

But hey, you never know, you might find some nugget of truth or divine inspiration in my musings!

So now we have this dream of living a more off grid lifestyle like a couple of modern day hippies. Maybe even building some kind of creative spiritual retreat in Thailand surrounded by like-minded free-thinkers in our own tropical paradise.

Or maybe we’ll just end up in a shed in the middle of nowhere, either way, we’ll be living our best lives.

Thanks to JoAnn Ryan for setting this ‘Introduce Your Selfie Challenge’ — And remember, Always Believe in Your Selfie — Cheers DJ

Cheers to you the reader, for supporting independent writers on Medium and this cool publication.

If you’re feeling a bit adventurous and want to read more of my writing you can find it here on Medium at DJ Hopkins or my blog, ‘An introvert’s guide to life, personal growth, and Thailand.’ Just don’t expect too much excitement — I am an introvert after all. Cheers DJ.