AH, COLLEGE! The time when young adults are supposed to find a vocation, themselves or, possibly, true love.

For those lucky enough to have had the experience of going to college, it might be some of the best times of their lives. Regardless, it definitely is filled with some embarrassing moments, outfits and friends you never want to think about again.

For those who didn’t go to college, living an academic life vicariously might be enough. On Sunday, Aug. 31, “Freshman Diaries” premieres on Showtime. The documentary series is directed and produced by R.J. Cutler, who won an Emmy for his gay-inclusive documentary “American High,” which aired briefly on Fox in 2000 and on PBS in 2001.

The premise of “Freshman Diaries” involves giving 12 of the 10,000 freshman at University of Texas, Austin, a camera so that they can record a video diary each day. The cameras also follow the students and their friends around to get every second of their first year at school (and at home during breaks) on tape.

The cast of 12 includes two gay men, Neil McGurk, who is from a small town in the Lone Star State and a high school graduating class of 20 people, and Luis Rocha, a flamboyant “Mexican fag,” as he calls himself.

For some reason, several of the cast members hang out with each other (whether this is a ploy by the producers of the show, or just a coincidence is never explained) and, of course, Luis and Neil eventually begin a relationship.

THE 30-MINUTE SHOW, which is precisely shot and edited, is filled with the universal questions that every young person asks: Who am I? Where do I belong? What am I going to do with my life?

“Diaries” is like “The Real World,” but with existential import.

The experiences of McGurk and Rocha are also typical of gay youths. McGurk says that everyone in his high school hated him because he was gay, and he is excited to be attending college. But as soon as he arrives and goes to an event for gay youth, he is uncomfortable and says, “I don’t know how to be gay.”

It doesn’t help that he is confused by the crush his straight female friend Hannah has on him.

Rocha seems more comfortable with his sexual orientation.

“Sometimes I look at myself and my highlights and my hand movements and my clothes and I think, ‘I’m so gay.’ And then I think, ‘So what?’ ” he says in the show’s second episode.

Also in the second episode, Rocha, the consummate drama queen, makes a mistake trying to cut his own hair, with disastrous but hysterical results.

“I wanted to have sex, and now no one’s going to have sex with me looking like this,” he says after the incident.

It is one of those shallow, embarrassing moments that most every viewer will have experienced. And ultimately, that is the appeal of this show.

Whether viewers are close in age to cast members or not, watching the cast members on “Diaries” is like reliving the awkward adjustment to college all over again.

Thankfully, for most of us, our horrible moments weren’t caught on tape.

MORE INFO
‘Freshman Diaries’
Showtime
Sundays at 11 p.m.

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