When I was 18, I had this crazy idea to apply to be on a reality show, so I did it. I applied to be on "The Real World" and the "Bad Girls Club." (I didn't really consider myself a "bad girl," but I definitely felt I was strong-minded and independent enough to try it out.) Honestly, though, I really just wanted to see if I could do it.

It wasn't until March of this year when I received an exciting email from Bunim Murray Tv Productions. The email read: "Congratulations!!! You have been selected to meet with one of our casting directors for: REAL WORLD!! Please reply to this email to confirm that you will be attending, and to be placed on our guest list. You may bring TWO guests with you to audition! If you plan on bringing guests, include their names in your confirmation email."

I seriously could not believe it. Was it really that easy? All I did was fill out an application and suddenly I was going to be auditioning for a reality show. Now, I know this may not be that cool to some people, but I had never been interested in pursuing acting or modeling before so I had never gone to a legitimate casting audition and thought it sounded pretty rad at the time.

The email provided me with a date and address and told me what I need to bring to the audition: my completed application, recent candid photographs and a copy of a photo ID. It notified me that when I arrived at the audition, a casting assistant would sign me in. The email then gave me a direct link to choose the arrival time for my audition, which was between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

However, while I was excited about the opportunity, I would much rather be on "The Bad Girls Club" than "The Real World.", I knew there was no way I was going to buy a plane ticket to go from San Diego to San Francisco for some show I wasn't absolutely dying to be on.

So, I finished the semester that Spring, and shortly after finals had ended, my sister asked me to go out with her for her friend's birthday. While we were out, I noticed that I had gotten an email from Bunim Murray TV Productions again! This time, they were congratulating me for being selected to audition for the "Bad Girls Club."

While I wasn't that into the idea of branding myself as a "bad girl" on national television, I wanted to go to the audition anyway because it was in Hollywood, meaning a much shorter drive, and because I knew it'd be something cool to say that I've done and at least I would get to have an idea of what it's like.

My sister and my boyfriend both agreed to go with me to support me and also because it was an opportunity to hang out at the Santa Monica Pier, visit LACMA and do all sorts of touristy things.

I chose to audition at 2 p.m., and we got there around 1:30 p.m. They were hosting the casting audition at the Hooters on Hollywood Blvd and we parked at a nearby mall, so the whole thing went pretty well other than the annoying and horrific traffic on the way there.

When we got the restaurant, we noticed a small line outside against the wall. Girls were filling out sheets of paper and there were a couple people in the front with Hooters girls standing behind a table. We went up to them and they asked if we were there for the audition, to which I replied yes, and one of the assistants handed me some documents to fill out.

I was pretty shocked that the line was so short when we got there, but I figured it could have been because most girls maybe went earlier in the day. Hey, if I were more experienced in L.A., I would have chosen an earlier time, too. I was practically sweating my makeup off when I got there because the heat was so ridiculous. I had to rush to reapply everything while I was in line.

As I was filling out the document, which asked a lot of the same questions that were on the application, the line went pretty quickly, and the next thing I knew, I was one of the next few people to go in. Suddenly, they asked me if I was ready to go in and because I was nervous and didn't want to tell them no, I said yes on a whim and they said 'OK, go ahead.' I quickly realized that they weren't asking if I was emotionally ready, but they were asking if I had finished the paperwork, so that was a fail.

One of the casting assistants led a group of about nine of us upstairs to where the restaurant had a second floor completely unoccupied as it was reserved for the audition. We were lead to the casting director who was sitting at the head of a big table and we all sat down and it quickly began. The casting director introduced herself and said she was going to go around the table and ask us each a couple different questions about ourselves. Most of the questions consisted of: "What's your sexual orientation?" "Are you single?" "Do you have kids?" "Why do you think you're a bad girl?" and "What do you do for a living?"

I noticed that the director was mostly interested in hearing about those who were either lesbian or bisexual, a stripper, single and without children. She questioned those with kids who would watch them while their mother was on the show and she didn't seem too pleased with any of their answers. She seemed delighted when someone told her they were in a relationship but cheat all the time, but she was even happier to hear if a girl was single. She seemed to be really interested in the girls who admitted to fighting, cheating, stripping, etc.

I was probably the only one there who was perfectly honest and proud about the fact that I am in a long-term, committed relationship. The director asked me if my boyfriend would be concerned about me being on the show. When I told her he is supportive of whatever I do, she seemed a bit annoyed by this answer, like it wasn't juicy enough. She then proceeded to ask me if I would ever cheat on him and I said no, I'm faithful to him, and she made a face like "Aw, that's cute." (I honestly feel like some of the other girls were disappointed in this answer as well.)

The audition was really short. After the director had gone through everybody in the group, she said she wanted everyone to describe themselves in one word and then they were free to leave. That was it. Seriously. It maybe took 10 minutes, if that. So, basically, I did my makeup, got all dressed up and drove all the way to L.A. for a 10-minute meeting.

I don't really know how these casting auditions are supposed to go, and I'm sure they are typically short, but, nonetheless, I walked away from the table feeling like coming there was a waste of time. The audition was so extremely short I don't know how she could evaluate or get to know someone from just a couple sentences that came out of our mouths. I know they say first impressions are everything, but I really think they just wanted the dirt, the drama, the scoop on all of us and to get a taste of our physical presence. I used to watch the show more often when I was in high school, and they've cast "goodie-goodies" and nice, laidback girls before. Sure, some of them may have had an attitude or were weird, but now it just feels like they are only trying to find girls who do morally bad things. We all know they don't want legitimate bad girls who would seriously hurt someone if they wanted to or serious bullies who fight dirty like pouring bleach in another girl's shampoo.

They just want the girls who will bring the drama where ever they go, do whatever they want or can for attention and fame, and get into cat fights over petty things.

When I used to watch the show, they used to have a life coach that would point out that some of these girls are the way they are because they've been through traumatic life events, but they would aim to show that this doesn't mean they can't change for the better. Now, I feel like it's all about the ratings, or drama and fists flying.

Anyway, I didn't regret going to the audition in the end because it was pretty cool to see what it was like. Maybe I didn't care or want it bad enough, but it was an interesting experience overall. On top of that, my sister and my boyfriend and I had a pretty awesome day hanging out in L.A. and being tourists so it was a worthwhile trip.

I don't see myself trying again next year. Even if it can bring certain opportunities if you know what you're doing, I wouldn't want to associate myself with a show like that just for a little bit of fame and money. (Really, though, I heard they really don't pay much.)

After thinking it through, I couldn't see myself going on a show just to be on TV, but it was cool to see if I could do it, and even though I didn't get past the casting audition, making it to the first audition was good enough for me!