Last night, my husband and I had the pleasure of having dinner with two local celebrities. We had a fabulous time and got to meet several other local celebrities in the process. Now you would think that because we were surrounded by all these famous people that we felt special, as though we were temporarily standing in the next level of a hierarchy. We didn't. We felt something else entirely.

Last night was like having dinner with good friends. These celebrities are normal, everyday people. They have hopes and dreams and desires and passions just like the rest of us do. They have families and friends and close relationships with people who aren't famous. They aren't egotistical (well, at least the people we were with aren't) and they don't act as though there is a hierarchy that puts them above the rest. We are the ones who place them there.

They are passionate about their careers. They are professionals and they love the work they do. That is how they got to where they are.

After having that wonderful experience, I had "tangent" experience. This morning I turned on my computer to see the latest celebrity gossip splashed across the screen. I wasn't looking for it; it was on a news website that comes up on my screen when I look at my email. It just happened to be there.

Celebrity gossip is a big industry. Why is that so? Why do we scramble to see $4 million pictures of celebrities' babies or pictures of famous married people kissing other famous married people? How does that fulfill us? Does that bring us closer to them?

After talking with these two people, I have no desire to gossip about them. What passed between us stays between us. There is no reason for it to go anywhere else. I feel as though I want to support them in any way I can – and I will whenever given the opportunity.

Famous people have lives, too, and in my opinion, they deserve their privacy – they deserve our respect for the work that they do. They work just as hard as the rest of us. Instead of purchasing the magazines that gossip about them, we can work with them by supporting their causes or their careers. We can watch them in the movies or on television. We can read their books and other works that they publish. We can support the organizations that they support. THAT is how we become closer to them.

In the end, the most important thing to remember is that celebrities are people, too, and I like that.