Last Sunday morning, I found myself not getting ready for church, but for something different - very far from church, actually.

I woke up at 9 a.m., did some last-minute research, got ready and left Biola by 11 a.m. I arrived at my destination, the ArcLight Theatre Dome parking lot, after a little bit of yelling out of frustration and singing out of boredom. Within another 45 minutes, I was surrounded by wires, camera gear, cameramen, journalists and red carpet.

I was at the 78th Annual Academy Awards - on the red carpet to be exact. As an intern for Black Entertainment Television (BET), I stood between the crews from the Spanish news station Telemundo and a French news broadcast station called Flash. I was surrounded by people in an industry that doesn't really recognize Sunday as a day of rest, much less a day to go to church.

Women in 2-inch heels milled around very efficiently on the carpet, taking care of things while black walkie-talkies dangled from their Dolce and Gabana dresses. Reporters were practicing introductions over and over again, radio hosts recorded animated statements into their cell phones and recording devices, and I just sat and watched.

In Hollywood, everything seems so volatile until you sit back and realize that, really, many things are quite calculated. Most things seem to change, but they are very edited and precisely measured. Nothing, I realized, is what it seems on TV. It is what it is after the broadcaster says to the cameraman, "I'm sorry. I keep fumbling. Let's try that again," 14 times.

I made many "Notes to Self," personal commentaries on the people I had always read about in People magazine or never really thought about, like the men that hold the microphones and take stills of beautiful gowns.

Chaos ensued around 4:30 p.m. when Dolly Parton and Rachel Weisz appeared. The crowd was fanatic, screaming out for Dolly to sing their favorite songs and yelling at Rachel to turn around for a picture. On the other side of the carpet, the press was getting riled up.

Nearly 70 reporters were vying for Parton and Weisz's attention, all at the same time. Each reporter was calling out some type of request: "Dolly! A few questions!" "Rachel, over here!" "Rachel, who are you wearing?" The only part of the questions that changed as the night progressed was the name of the person they were calling for.

Sadly, some of these guests were very involved with some of the headlining movies of the night, but because of their behind-the-scenes role, they attracted little attention other than that of what their publicist could find for them.

First note to self: Celebrities are just people. George Clooney had the charisma to captivate the 200 people in the crowd, but in the end, he stood on two legs, wore a tux like every other man and gave hugs like any friend would. Some of the female stars, as glamorized as they are portrayed in life, actually don't have wonderfully flawless skin or perfect teeth. They are all just people.

The excitement skyrocketed as a string of A-list stars - including Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger and Kiera Knightly - entered. By now, both the crowd and the press were ecstatic. I was privileged, and frankly just blessed, to stand within conversation-distance of Queen Latifah, Jamie Foxx, the members of Three 6 Mafia, Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, the cast of best foreign language film winner "Tsotsi," Taraji Henderson and, my personal favorites, Morgan Freeman and Terrence Howard.

The stars strolled in for about two and a half hours. It was a dizzying process trying to get an interview. As I saw people we were aiming for, I would let the cameramen and reporters know who was on their way and about how far down they were.

The flow of people moved quite quickly, and we would try our best to flag them down by doing everything from yelling their name or "BET!" very loudly, waving our reporter's notebooks with the BET logo on the front or reaching for their publicist. Some chose to ignore the smorgasbord of reporters and shoot down to either the entrance of the theatre or the photography section, where stills were being taken. Some gave us a helpless look when we were only a few feet away, while others just waved their hand, as if to shoo us away.

Second note to self: If famous, speak to journalists. I think stars should give journalists the time of day because we feed their fans and put their faces on TV screens and magazine covers. By the time 6:30 p.m. rolled around, half of the crew went to do more interviews inside the Kodak while the rest of us thawed from the frigid air in the Roosevelt Hotel, where we watched the ceremony in a screening room. Once the ceremony ended, we headed back to the carpet to catch reaction interviews with a few stars.

As I stood on the bleachers earlier that day, I laughed to myself at the disorder and chaos that was occurring before my eyes. Millions of viewers, including my parents and roommates, would be watching this regal ceremony with a red carpet, gold statues and food made by Wolfgang Puck. But, what I was seeing was the nuts and bolts - the frenzy of tangled camera and mic wires, reapplied makeup, sweating foreheads, celebrities stiffly walking to pose every step of the way and people vying for the chance to talk to the celebrities.

The night provided me with an amazing experience that taught me a lot about the entertainment industry from a journalistic standpoint. I don't know that, if given the opportunity to attend the next Oscar ceremony, I would go as a journalist (Although walking down the carpet as a publicist or event coordinator would be nice). I do know, however, that I felt compassion for the people who have everything, but sometimes, seemingly nothing.

My last note to self: Hollywood is certainly a jungle. Prepare wisely.