The real world is not full of unemployed, attractive 20-somethings hungry for fame.

But “The Real World” is.

Melissa Howard, a cast member on the MTV reality show’s most recent season in New Orleans, debunked the myths of life on the show Thursday to a crowd of about 250 Northwestern students in McCormick Auditorium.

Howard, the spunky half-Filipino, half-black former cast member, animatedly shared her television experiences. Dancing, falling over, and doing impressions of her ex-roommates and parents, Howard elicited raucous laughter from the audience.

She even tried out some jokes from her new stand-up routine, then fretted about offending the audience.

“This isn’t one of those Catholic schools, is it?” she asked during her routine.

Audience members also gained inside information on the cast members and their life in New Orleans.

“There were always hoes in the house,” she said.

Howard confessed that while on the show, all of the roommates were really “bored.”

“We would go onto the Internet hate sites about us and leak information about ourselves,” she said.

During an hourlong question-and-answer session, Howard said she would not recommend being on the show.

“If you want to have fun and you don’t really care about putting your life in the hands of editors who don’t know jack about you, go ahead,” she said.

Howard also complained about the inaccurate portrayal of the roommates.

“When you watch the show, it warps your perception of who you are,” she said. “If you watch that show enough, you start believing it.”

And she said her characterization on the show caused her to become depressed for three weeks.

“I’m trying to suppress it as a memory,” she said. “You kind of shut down because you feel like you’re judged 24/7.”

Now Howard said she is trying to move on, pursuing a career in stand-up comedy and acting in Los Angeles.

“I was a jackass half the time. Who cares?” she said. “Everybody does that mess to get famous. We’re famous on this real hyper-level, and we didn’t earn it.”

And she said that her “Real World” experience could hinder her success in the entertainment world.

“(Being on) ‘The Real World’ is definitely a stigma in the (entertainment) business,” Howard said.

Watching Howard onstage changed Neil Rhodes’ perception of her.

“She was my least favorite character on the show,” said Rhodes, a Speech sophomore. “Now I’m in love with her, and this shows the power of editing.”

Rhodes plans to stay in Chicago during the summer for the show’s open casting call.

“I thought she was hilarious,” said Katie Balicki, a Medill junior. “She’s a really different person than she is on TV.”

Two members of the audience were bold enough to ask Howard out on a date in the middle of the event.

“Melissa is hot,” explained Medill sophomore Ross Grimes, one of the two NU students.

Brandon Odoi, a second Howard admirer, said she had other positive qualities.

“I thought she was very personable,” said Odoi, a Medill sophomore. “I really like the fact that she’s multiracial because I think she represents the future we’re starting to see.”

And Howard even responded positively to their date request.

“Maybe we can all go out,” she joked with the audience.