Hamlet Shmamlet

Today was a tough day. It was a Wednesday, need I say more?

So when asked to contact a stranger. To contact a stranger with knowledge far above mine. My first reply was no thank you.
But I did it, and I have never felt anything so gratifying.

At first I contacted,
http://www.pathguy.com/hamlet.htm
http://web.archive.org/web/20041013134453/http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~iandel/index.html
http://www.kn.att.com/wired/fil/pages/listhamletma1.html

And after I was having so much fun that I even contacted
http://www.english.emory.edu/classes/Shakespeare_Illustrated/Shakespeare.html

I was nervous at first, how do I work this be a good "host" as stated in The Art of Hosting Good Conversations Online By Howard Rheingold but also let the creator know that I really meant what I was trying to tell them. I wanted to create a short statement that would let one walk away feeling better about themselves and if the littlest hint of happiness came out of my response then I had accomplished my goal.

So I wrote out my first email,
Dear Mr. Friedlander,

My name is Mia Levy and I am a high school senior at Ernest Righetti High School in Santa Maria, California. Recently my english teacher assigned us with the dauntless task of reading, memorizing, and analyzing Hamlet and I have yet to find a site as helpful as yours is. I wanted to let you know that although it hasn't been altered in almost 4 years it's still being used as a wonderful resource to high school students all over the country. Thank you for existing.

Sincerely a stressed out high school student,
Mia Levy

Reread it about 20 times and then sent it. Then I immediately kicked my self for using the word dauntless instead of daunting. Imagine my surprise when almost immediately I received a reply .

You are very welcome.  It is actually the OLDEST site devoted to the play that's still in existence.  I hope that as a young person, you find meaning in never compromising with wrong, just as Hamlet did.  Best wishes.

To be perfectly honest that simple paragraph turned my day around. Somebody important, somebody who had a very accomplished life took time out of their day to email me back.
I made all my emails personal, I really wanted to convey the fact that the countless hours of work these authors did were noticed and appreciated.