The philosophy of life.

[Deleted]

One benefit of a stage name was being able to enroll in college courses with just a small bit of anonymity. While the name Anna Simone was known, Anaïs Simonette, not as much. All this would be great of course except for one small detail. She simply didn’t have enough time in her day to even consider classes most days.

She did however figure out how to work around that to some degree. Thankfully several Universities were accommodating to many in her situation. Allowed her to sit in on classes if she had the chance and if she couldn’t, simply doing the work at her own pace.

The philosophy course was good however she knew she was missing out on the lecture aspect for this. She enjoyed the subject matter but knew she had to do more. There wasn’t an exactly an easy way for her to sit in on the class either. It was right in the middle of prime filming hours for the show. So she took a chance. Anna reached out to the University and schedule an appointment in her professor's office. She hadn’t talked with him directly but she guessed from what was said she wasn’t the only one that asked to see him at late hours. Well it was all of seven so not that late.

Walking across campus was fun, wearing the almost required over large sunglasses. She wasn’t sure exactly how much they hid her face but well if she didn’t no doubt she’d be swarmed in moments and never make her appointment. As it was she was fairly certain several people recognized her.

After getting lost and asking for directions she finally found herself at his office. Hopefully he would understand, hopefully she’d understand the subject matter just a bit more. Knocking she spoke using her native French Canadian accent compared to the LA one the world knew her with. She had after all enrolled in the class with her real name. “Excuse me Professor, do you have a moment? I have an appointment.”

Michael Muir

[Michael Muir]

Mike was sitting at his desk, switching his gaze from the papers he was grading and the television screen that was muted in the corner with subtitles. With every word he read on the screen fury pressed to his features and he had to go back to his papers with that emotion ingrained in his forehead. Honestly, Mike didn't know why he tortured himself by watching the other political segments on GNN where they brought on clueless idiots that wanted to deny global warming. Mainly, so he could combat their points when the anchors put him against those dumbo's, but really, it was the same circular argument over and over again. Maybe one day they would have an actually scientifically compelling case on the opposite end but somehow he doubted it. 

There was a knock on his door and a young lady entered, explaining she had some appoint. Ah, yeah, he'd almost forgotten about that.


"Yeah, Professor Muir-- it's Anais, right?" He extended his hand for a professional shake before gesturing to the empty chair on the other side of the desk. "Good to see ya. Hey, did you print out a copy of the syllabus? It'll outline the subjects we're going to go over so you can read the material beforehand. Nothing due this time though, it's more of an introduction." He nodded as he got out his copy of the syllabus from a old leather briefcase, placing it on the table and then looking around. Too bad he never had installed that white erase board he'd intended to in here. Oh well.

He was standing, simply because that's the way he gave lecture. 


"Alright- intro to philosophy. First thing I like to do is ask the class one simple question- what is your perception of philosophy? Is it boring, needless, something that makes us talk about what old Greek guys wrote, right, but what's the point? Is philosophy something you need to know if you're going to be a doctor, or even a plumber? It's okay to be honest- good or bad assumptions- what is it that you think of philosophy?" 


As he spoke he waved his hands around a bit, face animated and expressive. There was no way any student was going to fall asleep during one of his lectures- his lecturing style made sure of it. 

[Deleted]

She smiled to herself as Professor Muir introduced himself. Part of it was just her being friendly but a good part of it was hearing her actual name spoken out loud. It happened so rarely. “Anaïs yes.” She reached out taking his hand to shake it in greeting.


She had to shake her head as he asked if she had printed a copy of the syllabus. “No sorry I didn’t, though I did look it over during a break today.” She pulled out her phone and quickly brought up the pdf of the syllabus showing it to him.


She watched as he almost started pacing the small room, raising her eyebrows as she had to wonder what he was like in class. Ooo his question was a good one. “Boring? No. I think it’s not for everyone but I also feel that it’s beneficial to have an understanding just for the insight it provides” That really was true as well. Not only with dealing with problematic coworkers but also with getting into character. Actually she found it slightly surprising that he wanted her to be honest and that he understood that not everyone who took the class were ones who expected to get much out of it.

[Michael Muir]

Mike listened to Anna with his hand cupping his stubble covered chin, chewing over what her opinions were. Even when he was in a class of 100+ students he always tried to give every person a chance to say their piece and he was always interested in their words. There were ups to one on one tutoring like this- a student had a more intimate understanding of the subject matter and could collaborate more closely with the professor. The drawback, obviously, was that there could be no meaningful sharing of information between peers. Sometimes students discussing their views among one another could bring ideas that he never could. 

It would be a delicate balance to keep here, but Mike was determined to do his best. 


Part of that was finding a way to make the material relevant to Anais. 


"Tell me a little about yourself." He said as he slung back into his chair and looked with interest at the younger woman. "You know- where are you from, what do you do for a living, what's your major, and tell me one fun or interesting fact about yourself.  " He wasn't trying to make this out to be an interview but it was a bit impossible to avoid since it was just the two of them, and these were things he normally asked his students at a beginning to get a feel for who these people were in an effort to craft his teaching around the culture of the class. 

[Deleted]

This was new for her. Well a university setting on hre own was new. She had been acting for years and had dealt with private schooling then. Of course she wasn’t the only one. The other cast members under age all had to attend classes so to speak. While she would love a chance to partake in a class setting, it really wouldn’t be beneficial. Her peers were also her core fan base. There was a rather good chance that all she would do was cause a class disruption more than anything.

When her Professor asked her to speak about herself she paused for a second wondering just what to say. Well might as well go for broke right? Or at least the Hollywood broke. “No major, I don’t know yet what I want to do with this and I’m short on time for classes. I’m an actress actually.” She knew that in this town that didn’t mean much. Most of the waiters and waitresses you saw were actors of some sort. “I’ve done a few movies and work on a tv show now.” Not her first show either but that wasn’t relevant at the moment. Hitting her native French Canadian accent hard she answered his first question. “I’m from Sainte-Marie, Quebec.” Then she switched abruptly to the LA accent she usually used. “But the world things I”m a Cali girl.” She couldn’t help but grin and wink at that. That had been her agents decision when she was first starting. Wanting to help her break into the business since she could pull of the accent so well. Now it wasn’t nearly an issue but it just had never been discussed really with the public.

[Michael Muir]

Mike couldn't help but smirk as she spoke- he was having one of those a-ha moments. It was great when things just came to him and he didn't have to sit and contemplate it late at night on how exactly to reach a student. Here it was, BAM, smack dab in his face.


Beautiful.


"That," He pointed his finger at the young lady after she had finishes speaking. "Is one hell of an example of philosophy. Truth. What is truth? Is lying saying something that's false, or is even the act of purposefully withholding information a lie? Are there some lies that are justifiable? Is a white lie- saying you're fine when asked how you're doing when you're actually having a damn awful day- is that as bad as say, lying about your age to get into a bar. What I'm getting at is, morality is philosophy, truth, justice, how we make decisions. All of that didn't exist until people started questioning things, asking questions, which is one of the main reasons introduction to philosophy is a basic requirement for any degree at this University. Philosophy is fundamentally the root of critical thinking, which is something anyone in any career can use."


His excitement poured through his words. Even though he'd been saying similar speeches over and over again, when he got a prospect student who legitimately seemed interested in learning, it really did rev up his engines. Teaching, that was one of the core aspects that separate man from beast. Even greater apes, our closest relatives, only have the concept of imitation. There is no concept of teaching where one ape watches and the ape being watched instructs. Learning was what had propelled the human race to where it was, each generation building on the knowledge of the prior generations. It brought him great pleasure to bestow that onto the younger generations, even if that meant he got paid a crap salary and was widely underappreciated. In many ways it was the Anna Simone's of society that were revered for their beauty and charismatic persona while on the big stage. The professors were spoken of in journals, but never on the nightly news beyond some boring 5 minute political segment. Or maybe on PBS.    

[Deleted]

“It is often said that Hollywood is the business of lies. I think it’s a rather true statement in many ways. As for myself all I can do is make the person I play to the world as true to myself as I can. I know that part of my life is little white lies. I don’t however hide myself now. If asked I do tell the truth. I also accept that the way society sees me isn’t something I can easily control.”

She listened as he became animated and excited. Obviously passionate about what he was teaching. He became alive as she spoke. Anna couldn't help but smile at that as she could at least relate to that. When she had a script in front of her that she loved she became just as passionate.

“I was confused when I first started and my agent insisted I go by a different name. The core reason he gave me at the time has changed but not all the reasons. But I did question it. I did try to find the truth so to speak.” She paused for a moment gathering her thoughts. “I think I understand however what you mean. How we can’t truly understand morality and philosophy if we are unwilling to question life and our actions. Just because it’s been done doesn’t mean it should be or shouldn’t in truth. It’s not something easily verbalized at all times."