my writing class and intro letter

hey guys-for those who don't know,i am taking an at home writing class called writing for children and teens. this course is through the university of connecticut's institute of children's literature. it teaches you how to write better and market your work to publishers. each student is paired with an individual teacher who is a published author. the following is my introductory letter to my teacher, pegi shea. i would appreciate feedback. i also have to write a short story which i'll post later. this will probably be the only letter to her i will post. i'm just a little nervous because she actually is a published author.Fallon KunzOct, 28, 2009Dear Mrs. Shea,Hi! My name is Fallon. I am a college student, musician, and poet from Mishawaka, Indiana. I am the oldest of three children. My brother, Bryan, is sixteen. He wants to either be a lawyer or a prosecutor, and is already taking his first college class to get ahead. My sister, Kayla, is twelve. She’s got her heart set on acting, and has recently landed her first role in the school play. My parents, Kip and Karen, are divorced. Despite my best efforts to get an apartment, I still live at home with Dad.We have three pets. Dalilah has been with us the longest. She is a yellow lab, chow, and beagle mix. She is supposed to be the family pet, but we all know she’s Bryan’s girl. Lola is Kayla’s rat terrier puppy. She’s a bundle of energy 24/7. We should have named her Lightning. Maria is my baby. I’m not sure if she’s a Persian or a British Blue cat. She’s an affectionate, stubborn, little fuzz ball who likes to “type” on my computer, delete my homework, and turn on my radio.I was born on March 16, 1988-three months before Mom’s due date. During her pregnancy, Mom lost fluid several times. At her 5-month ultrasound, the doctors told Mom that the umbilical cord was wrapped around my neck. They said if they delivered me then, I would die. So my parents anxiously and prayerfully waited. At birth, I weighed one pound, eleven ounces. Doctors doubted I’d make it through the night.A year and a half later, I was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. I use a power chair for most of my mobility, and can use a walker for short distances. If you have any further questions or concerns about my disability, feel free to ask. I’m very comfortable talking about it. I was very loved as a kid, but I also felt very isolated. I was the first disabled student at my elementary school. Nobody wanted to play with the “crippled girl”.I found refuge in music. I sang all day long. When people ask me how long I’ve been singing, I often answer by asking how long they’ve been breathing. I literally have no memory of life prior to music being a part of it. Somewhere on this planet, there is an incredibly embarrassing video tape of me singing in my preschool’s Barney musical when I was four. My love of music only grew from there. By nine, I had done my school talent show. By ten, I could read sheet music.As for my writing, that began when I was nine. My parents took me to the store, and told me to pick out anything I wanted for my birthday. I chose a pink and white personal cassette player and a diary.At first, I just wrote about fluff-boys I liked, my cat, my hatred of math, etc. Over the years, my writing matured. It stopped being about how I hated being different, and was more about how I hated other people thinking I was less capable simply because I was on wheels.My creativity wouldn’t allow me to stick to prose. In part because of my musical background, I have always been interested in poetry and theatre. While my friends dreaded Shakespeare, I was in love with him. In addition to Shakespeare, I also love Maya Angelou, Joyce Meyer, Jane Austen, and Nicholas Sparks. After seeing the musical on YouTube last year, I am also thoroughly obsessed with all things “Wicked”. I love how Gregory Maguire can take a story I think I know, and turn it on its head. He creates his own unique piece of art with stories like “Wicked”, while not ruining a beloved original.When I was thirteen, I was looking for a unique way to tell my two best friends how much I loved them. I decided to write them a letter. That letter became my very first poem. ` To date, I have seventy-one original poems. My friends would often pass my journal around at lunch and read them. They would tell me what they liked, and what they thought needed to be tweaked. It was these “pass the poetry” sessions that caught the attention of my choir director. She saw my poem “Music”, and insisted it be printed on the back of the program for our final concert that year. In high school, I took a creative writing class. When I transferred schools, I worked on the school paper. My teacher was impressed by my poetry and allowed me to publish an original poem in nearly every issue that was released my senior year. I also contributed an editorial on accessibility for disabled students in high schools.I didn’t take the writing test for this class. Enrollment was offered to me because I had previously taken-and later dropped for academic reasons-the adult class through Longridge Writers Group. My ultimate goal is to teach high school choir and give voice lessons in the summers. However, writing has always been my second love. I would someday love to do a book of poetry for teenage girls. There is also a possibility that my disability could keep me from teaching. In that event, I plan to give voice lessons in my home, and maybe supplement my income with writing. Even if I never make any money at it, it is worth it to me to take the time and money to hone my skills. Is it O.K. with you if I send you a poem once in a while on top of my assignments and letters? I run them by my friends and family all the time. They all say they love them, but it would help me immensely to have a fresh pair of eyes look at them. I would also like the input of a professional. I look forward to hearing from you.Sincerely,Fallon Kunzfor more information on this mail-order class for writers, go to www.instituteofchildrenslitersture.com . for more information on that class offered for adult audiences, go to www.longridgewritersgroup.com