by what was said in her bio, she is disciplined in that she taught herself to have a lot of self-control.
What part of the bio gave you this impression? I'm certainly not portraying Surayah with a monk's focus. If anything, she's the opposite on the whole, acting more along her instincts than a true, developed discipline, and this causes her some trouble. I would say her skills developed because of 1) curiosity 2) entertainment or 3) class privileges in Calimshan. I gave one example in the early days of this mod that she could be preparing to cast a fireball, then notice a bloodstain on her gown and be thrown off kilter. She can be very impressionable, sometimes foolishly so.
As for headstrong and strong-willed, I suppose I misinterpreted her bio: it sounds like she has unique beliefs for someone of her class and upbringing, and usually (note the word usage) people like that have to be headstrong to hold onto their ideals in the face of adversity. So I guess "headstrong" was an assumption, sorry about that.
There's some truth here in terms of how I've approached Surayah, but headstrong and strong-willed are more extreme descriptors than how I've written her so far, I'd say. Some relevant issues I discussed in the old FW forum, regarding choosing a CG alignment - I think she had to be chaotic, had to have some streak of rebellion to ever get out of that house. A Calimshite upbringing in her position, most likely she would have been LN or possibly LE, and if she was completely devoted to those values, I would have expected her to not be in Amn, but back in Calimshan, making an advantageous marriage to someone who would bring additional profit, power, and advantages to her family.
The way I'm treating her, she's in a state in between - her upbringing has a very strong influence on her, as does love for her family. At the same time she is curious, and that curiosity led her to worship of Sune, meeting Hessa, and realizing just how cruel life in Calimshan could be. Meeting the PC and the situation with Anomen are added catalysts as Surayah struggles between being the woman she was raised to be and becoming the woman she imagines she could be, and, much to her dismay, it's not all pretty.