by Gina Scarpa

 

This week, on The Real World: DC, Emily’s sister came to visit and asked her not to do anything that would embarrass the family. Hurt by the conversation between them, Emily expressed to her roommates that she was just trying to live her life freely and not cause anyone pain in the process. She grew closer to Ty, but something is keeping her from fully trusting him and entering into any kind of relationship with him. Today, Emily spoke to RealityWanted about landing a spot in The Real World house, the debates about religion and sexuality, and what she has planned for 2010.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What made you want to try out for The Real World?

 

A. Emily: I go to Mizzou and I work at the Starbucks on campus. I came into an early morning shift and realized quickly that there was an audition going on. There was a guy who kept coming in. He was cute and fun and kept making conversation with me. I finally asked, sarcastically, if he was doing auditions for Real World and he asked if I wanted to talk to him after work. I was so embarrassed but I went in my Starbucks uniform. It was basically just a conversation with him. It was fun and relaxed and out of the blue. I never knew it would go as far as it did.

 

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: I felt like the Brooklyn cast really came into their house with stories to tell and something to say. Did you intend to make your religious upbringing, and then breaking free of that, an issue to raise awareness about or was that just a story that came up as you got to know everyone in the house?

 

A. Emily: I don’t watch Real World but I don’t really like to put that out there but it’s part of my past and I realize that the way I was raised makes me who I am. I wasn’t trying to make a stand and a statement. I didn’t come in saying I wanted to prove something or say something about my religion. That story is just going to come out as I get to know people. It’s inevitable.

 

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: On the first night at dinner, you all had a debate about religion that got pretty heated. Were you surprised how quickly that came up and what made you decide to stay out of it?

 

A. Emily: I don’t think I am that surprised. Five of us, in the house, are very dominant personalities we want everybody to know what we think. We had known each other for a couple hours and weirdly, I’m not surprised that conversation happened. Those people barely even knew me or my name let alone anything about me. The last thing I wanna do is put my thoughts about religion out there. That’s something very personal to me. I’m very glad I stayed out of that conversation. I sided more with Ty but the way he approached it is not how I would’ve approached it.

 

 

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Katelynn Cusanelli writes with us here at RealityWanted and she made a really good point that Mike got a much stronger reaction to revealing his bisexuality than you did. Do you feel like there was a double standard there?

A. Emily: It’s definitely more acceptable for girls to explore more than guys. I don’t know why culture gets grossed out by guys exploring with guys and gets turned on by girls exploring with girls. It’s a weird double standard that I’ll never understand. Mike made a good point that it’s how we’re raised. I hope that can change. I think everybody has a little bit of bisexual in them. At some point, everyone questions it. The fact that it’s so closed off, to not try new things, and for it to be secretive is saddening. Everybody should be free to try new things and be open and figure out who you should be with and who you relate to more. I do think it’s a double standard. I was really surprised how limited of a reaction I got when I said I was exploring my sexuality. I wasn’t bombarded with questions at all.

 

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: I have to ask about Andrew because he’s such a character this season. Is that really how he is or does he act the way he does for attention and for the cameras?

 

A. Emily: I’ve seen Andrew off camera and he’s the same off camera as he is on. He’s one of a kind. I had a lot of fun living with him. He’s definitely not putting it on as a show. He’s so off the wall ridiculous.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Your sister came out to visit on this week’s episode and was concerned you’d upset the family with your actions on The Real World. Did it change anything about how you continued your experience in DC or did you live your life as planned, regardless of what she said?

 

A. Emily: I continued to live my life as planned. For anybody to hear that they’re hurting someone, just by living, is hard to take. It was a low blow for me. She thought I was hurting people and I was just trying to be myself. After I got over that, I don’t think it would be possible to not be genuine. It’s how I was raised.

 

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: As with any Real World cast, I’m sure there will be some fights this season between everyone. Did those fights or arguments bring out any side of you that you didn’t expect?

 

A. Emily: No, I think just everything was more extreme and pressurized. You can’t walk away from problems that you would normally walk away from. You can’t leave when you want. You have to deal with things you normally wouldn’t deal with. There were situations were I was like, “I don’t even know how I would deal with this.” It was healthy, though. You take what you can from it and learn and grow. I don’t know if I ever surprised myself. I think I was pretty Emily. I was a lot more dramatic than I am in real life and I hated that about myself. At some point though, you have to take a stand when people don’t agree with you.

 

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What’s coming up for you this year?

 

A. Emily: This year, I’m excited. I’m starting back school at Mizzou. I’m restless in Missouri so I don’t know how long I’ll last. I found a new passion which is snowboarding. I’ve been going to Colorado as much as possible. I’ve been trying new things. I love seeing Mike. We had a lot of fun last time I was in Colorado. As a group, we relate on a whole new level because of our experience. I’m traveling a lot and hopefully a lot more. I actually really want to go to South America for a while and Africa is on the list. I have a bucket list. There’s just a lot of new things I want to try.

 

 

The Real World: DC airs Wednesdays at 10pm ET on MTV.

  

(Image courtesy of MTV)

 

Follow Gina at twitter.com/ginascarpa

 

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