The streets of New Orleans were abuzz this winter with the sights and sounds of the Saints Super Bowl celebration, Mardi Gras and the antics of MTV”s latest “The Real World” cast.
A Mississippi State University student from Aberdeen experienced the excitement firsthand.
Jemmye Carroll, 21, was a cast member of “The Real World: New Orleans 2,” which is set to premiere at 9 p.m. Wednesday on MTV. Filming lasted from January until April, Carroll said Monday by phone from Wisconsin, where she was visiting a fellow cast member.
From the first night in New Orleans to the last, there was “drama” among the eight housemates, Carroll said.
“There wasn”t a day that went by where we didn”t have drama in that house,” Carroll said with a laugh.
But the group also enjoyed the Saints Super Bowl victory and Mardi Gras in the French Quarter, which Carroll said was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“It was a complete party,” Carroll said. “Every night we went out. You can”t describe it. It was an amazing experience. We lived the party life.”
Now, with the group”s experiences set to air for the world to see, Carroll admits she”s a bit nervous.
“At the time, you have the cameras on you, but you don”t think anybody is ever going to see it because (the air date) is so far away,” Carroll said. “Now I”m a little nervous. I mean, there were some wild nights, but I knew what I was signing myself up for.”
Carroll says it wasn”t hard adjusting to life in front of a camera.
“After the first week you forgot they were there,” she said.
Because the season has yet to air, Carroll can”t give away too many details about what viewers can expect. Yet, she does give a glimpse when asked about the best part of “The Real World” experience.
“There may or may not have been a boy,” she said. “You”ll just have to watch and see.”
Moving in with seven strangers was the most difficult part, she said. Months later, however, the group knows intimate details about each other and, for the most part, remains good friends, Carroll said.
Carroll was scheduled to graduate this spring from Mississippi State with degrees in communications and political science, but opted to live in “The Real World” house because she “didn”t want to grow up,” she said. At MSU, she is a member of the Sigma Alpha Lambda National Leadership and Honors Organization, the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, a member of the Community and Governmental Relations Board of the Student Association and president of the Pre-Law Society. She was valedictorian of her high school class at Aberdeen High School and was voted Mississippi”s Wendy Heisman State High School Athlete of the Year in 2006.
This weekend, Carroll is moving to Miami, where she plans to complete her college requirements online. Carroll also says she might attend law school one day.
“But I don”t think I”m ready for that yet,” she said.
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