People always deem MTV’s “The Real World” as out of touch with reality and completely exaggerated when it comes to young adults in a house filled with threatening social conflicts.

I, for one, believe that while “The Real World” is nothing more than a media spectacle at its best, it is heavily filled with circumstances that are commonly found in a household of raging individuals.

As college students, I’m certain we all can relate to some of the conflicts that transpire on this reality war zone almost every day of the week.

No, I’m not referring to the drunken nights or tear-jerking conversations on the phone with loved ones from back home.

I’m referring to the unfortunate reality of dealing with, or rather tolerating, roommates from hell.

Whether you have personally experienced it or you have heard numerous recounts of how someone’s roommate is completely driving them mad, I’m sure you are quite aware how irritating living with a roommate can be.

I just don’t understand why two or more individuals can’t seem to live in harmony without one attempting to jump out the window.

Seems like no matter how close you and your roommate may be, or not, conflict will occur.Now, don’t sit there like you don’t know what I’m insinuating. Allow me to examine the all but infamous roommate from hell.

For the students who reside in traditional on-campus housing, forced to live side-by-side their roommate (literally), given little to no privacy whatsoever: Oh how depressing it is to wake up every morning only to see their crusty-looking faces!

Every move you make, there he is. When he has company (unexpected at that), so do you, because you don’t have much of a choice when they’re nearly 10 feet away.

For my fellow students who live in the suites or stay off-campus: just when you thought things would somehow become easier, being that you have your own room and all, you’re harshly faced with the reality that things only become more problematic.

Suddenly in college you find yourself relating to your parents all those times when they hassled you about washing the dishes and taking out the trash. It wasn’t because they found pleasure (well, maybe a little) in bombarding you with worthless chores.

They stressed cleanliness because it’s common sense! Have you ever tried not cleaning for weeks at a time? It’s exceedingly disgusting!

Sometimes I find myself in disbelief how one can continuously walk past a pile of dirty dishes, the size of a mountaintop at that, and add to the collection as if it doesn’t exist. Why not take the time to at least wash the things you use? It would surely make things less challenging in the future.

And what about the good ole bathroom?

Cleaning the bathroom does not only entail flushing and wiping the toilet seat. A bathroom needs to be mopped and thoroughly cleaned weekly.

When there is mold of some sort surfacing in the shower, it’s time to whip out the Pine Sol and bleach.

Cleaning does not include simply wiping the surface with a paper towel. Cleaning requires you to actually use a rag and cleaning products.

Now, I’m not anal about cleaning or anything, but shouldn’t dust, dried-up sauce, bacteria-like mold and empty cans give a signal that SOMETHING should be done?

Off the topic of apartment purity, one thing that also irks me is when your roommate wants to blast music at the most inconvenient hours!

I perfectly understand that you’re not always going to be in the mood to study. But if you find the urge to not just play music, but ignorantly blast it to the point where my textbooks are vibrating, Houston we most definitely have a problem.

It’s not even a matter of bad timing, it’s simply inconsiderate.

Let’s keep in mind that these walls are paper thin. If it’s the weekend, then by all means turn it up as loud as you want; I will gladly take a walk to “Club Woody.”

But if it’s 1 o’clock in the morning and I clearly have a 9 o’clock class, I would advise you to be a little more cognizant.

You see, living with a roommate isn’t rocket science. It’s called common courtesy. We can’t always please one another, but some things don’t require much thought.

Conflicts are inevitable when sharing space with anyone other than yourself, but there are little things we most commonly ignore that could make the difference between inconveniencing your roommate and causing him to contemplate killing you.

So next time you decide to go about your regular routine of living, stop and consider whether or not you are contributing to the long list of roommates from hell.

• Gerren Gaynor