As I stood in line, with hundreds of other passengers who had missed their connecting flights because of the fog I tried really really hard not to panic. I tried to keep my cool. What if I couldn’t get another flight to Phoenix before tomorrow? I would MISS the workshop! Every time I thought these exact words a tear would threaten to escape but I was in the middle of an airport. They couldn’t escape. I had to keep my cool. Slowly, the line moved forward. Which meant that I moved forward. I was sore and exhausted and it was only 1030 in the morning and every inch that I moved gave me both a glimmer of hope and a bit of panic. After what felt like hours (although I’m sure it was closer to one!) I left the Guest Services counter with a new ticket in hand and a renewed hope that I WOULD make it to Phoenix before tomorrow! One more delay, two flights, and 11 hours later I landed in Phoenix!
Monday morning couldn’t be any different than my day of travel before! I was elated, I felt refreshed, and I couldn’t wait to meet everyone! I got to the workshop super early (on accident) which meant that I got to snag a front row seat to watch day one unfold! As Amy and Jordan began teaching I was transported back to grade school (this is a good thing, I am one of those weirdos who actually liked school!) except instead of hard plastic chairs, laminated wood desks, rowdy classmates and old tattered textbooks there were white leather couches, 16 people eager to learn, top secret notebooks, and two amazing teachers! Demos Education is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced! When I sat down on that white leather couch I had no clue what a remarkable experience the next two days would be! I definitely had expectations about what would happen and, as high as they were, they were exceeded on every level! Amy and Jordan are two of the kindest people in the industry. They both have the heart of a teacher (which makes sense given they used to be teachers!) and the most genuine souls! As they sat in front of us and told them everything they knew, you could feel their passion behind every word. They illustrated points with wonderfully comical charades and live demonstrations. They spent every moment they weren’t teaching answering question after question, as eager to impart their knowledge on us as we were to lap it up! They blessed us with the most beautiful styled shoot and kept us well fed with food that made my 5 year old taste buds do a happy dance! There is so much I could say about this workshop but it’s one of those you have to experience it for yourself kind of things, like the Grand Canyon. A picture or an explanation will never do it justice! It was the most amazing way to start off 2017. Here are my favourite moments from the AJ workshop and, of course, a couple of pictures!
Top Moments from AJ Workshop:
- Getting to listen to Hamilton with people who love it as much (probably more) than I do!
- Witnessing Jordan’s many chivalrous deeds, most notedly when he sprinted through the rain to get everyone umbrellas only to have the rain stop as soon as he’d handed them out
- Trying In N’ Out Burger for the first time (whyyyy don’t we have one here??)
- Sitting outside in the cold Arizona night after day 2 listening to Amy and Jordan answer everyone’s questions (if that doesn’t say dedication I don’t know what does!)
- Getting to be the meat of a #demossandwich!
- Meeting 16 amazing photographers from all over the states!
Amy working her magic!
It’s calling for rain!
But that’s okay because Jordan has umbrellas, lots of umbrellas!
My heart! A desert rainbow <3 (is that an oxymoron? :p) 
Day 2: according to Amy and Jordan, Day 1 was the easy day! 
Amy and Jordan are the sweetest!
Demos Sandwich! 
The amazing group of people I spent 2 incredible days learning with and from!
