"Let the rain fall down and wake my dreams, Let it wash away my sanity, 'Cause I wanna feel the thunder, I wanna scream. Let the rain fall down, I'm coming clean."

When walking down a residence hall on a Monday night, these are the lyrics echoing throughout, because Monday nights are "Laguna Beach" nights.

"Laguna Beach: The real O.C." is an MTV creation that began last year.

With the popularity of Fox's show "The O.C.," a program about high school students, relationships and the richest beachside community in California, MTV couldn't go wrong with the same premise.

Except this time, the teenagers really live there, they have real relationships, they all attend high school and everyone on the show has real drama.

The show has become something of a phenomenon among various audiences this year, especially college students, and is bringing in 3 million viewers a week.

What is different about this reality show compared to most is that it is structured like a traditional narrative show, not like a documentary.

It works because these are no ordinary high school students. They live in paradise, have everything they could want and we wonder what teenage angst could they possibly have?

"Even those girls that have money still have the same problems that we have, and we don't have that much money," said Crystal Sweeney, a senior at Radford University.

Everyone has a fascination with the wealthy and their lifestyle, and now we are watching the children of the rich, how they spend their parents' money, how intelligent they are and what their personalities are like.

"They all live in luxurious locations, and are filthy rich," said Claire Taylor, another senior at RU.

"I suppose that seeing how people of that status live is interesting and, at times, humorous."

In its first season on the air, we watched eight beautiful teenagers drive around in their sport utility vehicles, maintain year-round tans and demonstrate water-sport talents.

Most of the girls were bleached blondes, with perfect bikini bodies.

Lauren Conrad, Steven Coletti, Kristin Cavalleri, Lauren Bosworth, Morgan Olsen, Trey Phillips, Christina Schuller and Talan Torreiro made up the cast of characters.

Lauren was the narrator and told the tale of her senior year and how she has always been in love with her longtime friend Steven, who, sadly, is dating Kristin.

We watched the love triangle develop, and the rivalry between Kristin and Lauren made the show very interesting and entertaining. Until the big graduation.

In the second season, all that remains from the old cast are Kristin, as narrator, Talan, Steven and Lauren when they are back in town from college. Some faces that showed up occasionally in the first season have replaced the other graduates of the show: Alex H., Jessica, Jason, Alex M. and Taylor.

Because we still keep up with Steven, LC and Kristin, the love triangle has become more appealing because all three are now single, and we get to hear it all from Kristin's perspective -- to which she says: "Last year LC called all the shots, now its my turn" (from MTV's Web site).

And with that, the show is more concentrated on Kristin's "clique."

With a reality show, (unlike an ordinary TV show) the audience can feel more of a connection between the people on their screens.

Fans of "Laguna Beach" talk about the cast as if they really know them, like they are their friends. Sometimes they will sit watching and critique them.

"When I watch it I look at those girls, and their lives are so perfect that any problems they have seemed so petty sometimes," said Louise Waller, a junior at Radford University.

Students usually watch the show with a group of friends, and a lot of comparisons are drawn. People tend to gossip about the Laguna gossip -- like it's their own.

It is also possible to receive text messages about gossip on the show from Virgin Mobile, so people can feel like they know everything there is to know about Kristin and her power "clique."

When it comes to the love triangle, everyone has an opinion as to who should end up with Steven.

"I want to see Steven with LC because she's so sweet, and is adorable," said Peyton Bowman, a freshman at New River Community College.

As this second season draws to a close fans are wondering what could happen, what relationships will start and what relationships will end.

If fans are worried about "Laguna Beach" not having a third season, then they need worry no more.

The creators at MTV will try to duplicate Laguna's success with a new show, "8th and Ocean," in Miami's South Beach following the lives of 10 aspiring models.

Around Campus is a weekly feature written by New River Valley college students.

Stephanie Taylor is a senior media studies major at Radford University. Comment on this story online at roanoke.com/messages.