Kassie is a 13-year-old girl who has been placed in foster care with her 5-year-old sister Macie after their mother had to leave. They are living with an older woman named Ms. Lynda. Kassie is adjusting to her new school and has made some friends. She writes in her diary about discovering the values of community, loyalty, and friendship through her experiences of being welcomed by others at her new school and church. She finds comfort and joy in being part of a community and looks out for Macie.

1. Values
Author and Illustrator: Tammi Hanzalik
Editor: Kaitlyn Koscis

2. Acknowledgements
I wouldlike tothankmyfamilyforinstillingasetof valuesinmylife thatI still live today.Iwouldalso
like tothankall of the people thatare currentlyinmy life fortheirencouragement. Ibelieve thatpeople
matterand can be a positive influence onothers.

3. About the Author
Tammi is a juniorfromLake BuenaVista,FL witha major inElementaryEducation.Tammi servesasthe
Presidentof Stetson'schapterof BestBuddies,whichworkswithadultswithintellectual and
developmental disabilitiesatthe ARC of Volusia.Currently,she isthe Chief AdministrativeOfficerof
Stetson’schapterof KappaAlphaTheta.Tammi enjoysgenuinepeople anddoingthingsinlifethat
matter. She is also enjoys coffee more thanisreasonablypossible andispassionate aboutmusic.

4. Discovering your values: Community,Loyalty, and Friendship
April 2nd
, 2010
Dear diary,
I had a terrible day today! These people came to my house and took my little sister and I to the
police station. They told me to put all my clothes and toys in a black trash bag and wait in the living
room while they packed up my sister, Macie’s things. I was furious! How dare they barge into my home
and tell me that I had to leave! I asked the lady in the powder blue suit why we had to go and she said
that my “mom take care of us anymore because she was had to go away for a little while.” I’m almost
thirteen, why can’t I just stay where I am with Macie! Once Macie came into the living room I put on a
fake smile so that she wouldn’t cry. She is only five and doesn’t need to feel afraid. As we were driving
away from the house, my heart sunk to the bottom of my stomach and then Macie asked me where we
were going and I told her that I didn’t know but we will be okay. My heart broke becaue I don’t know if
we were actually going to be okay. Once I got to the police station, they had us sit in these room that

5. had toys and puke green walls. I think that they are trying to hide the fact that we are in a police
station. Macie is trying with the rag dolls in the corner while I sit and watch out the window to see
what will happen next. All that I know is that no matter what happens, I will always be there to make
sure Macie is cared for and loved.
Until next time,
Kassie
April 15th
,2010
Dear diary,
Some time has passed since the day that my life changed drastically. I had to start a brand new
school on the opposite side of town with new people and new teachers. At least they kept Macie and I
together since she has never been without me to tuck her in at night. we had to move in with this old
lady named Ms. Lynda. She cooks for us and picks us up from school and does our laundry without
complaining. I can’t remember the last time that I had a meal that didn’t come from a microwave or
from a school cafeteria. I still miss my mom everyday but I can show it or else Macie will cry more than
she does at night. It breaks my heart to see her hurting but not really knowing how to express it.
My new school is really small compared the large middle school that I used to go to. At first I
hated it because it was full of people who had known each other since they were in diapers and I was
the obvious new kid. My homeroom teacher, Mrs. Williamson had me come up to the front of the
classroom and wanted me to say something about myself. I clammed up, all that ran through my mind
was if she wanted me to admit that I was a foster kid, luckily, all that came out of my mouth was my
name and that I really like dogs. Half of the class laughed but then one girl, named Claire came up to
me after class and showed me a picture of her dog, Doug, and said that she also really liked dogs. That
day at lunch I sat at a far off table and watched as everyone had someone to sit with and talk too. As I
sat there with my PB& J sandwich I wondered if I would feel lonely forever.

6. Until next time,
Kassie
P.S I should have said something more interesting than the fact that I like dogs.
May 3rd
, 2010
Dear diary,
I really like Ms. Lynda. She never yells at us and gives lots of hugs. At first I wasn’t sure if she
actually wanted us their or if we were some kind of charity case for her. She takes us to church with
her every Sunday and makes us sing with her. I had never been to church before but everyone seemed
so nice. On our visit this past Sunday, Macie got lost in the crowd as the service was ending and I
panicked while trying to find her. How could I have been so irresponsible, she’s only five and needs me.
As I was running around trying to find her this thin woman comes up to me and asks if I was okay and
I explained that I was looking for my sister. She smiled and asked if I had looked outside by the big lawn
where there was a group of giggling kids. I quickly walked over to the lawn and there Macie was
laughing and running around with the other kids. I called her name and she ran over to me. I asked her
why she walked away from me and she smiled and said that max, a boy from school asked her if she
wanted to play with him and his friends. She then gave me this sad face as if I was going to tell her to
leave but instead I told her to go and play. Macie had never really had friends before. It was nice to see
her smiling again. I’m glad that she doesn’t feel alone in this world.
Until next time,
Kassie
June 3rd
, 2010

7. Dear diary,
The school year is almost over and Ms. Lynda thinks that I should think of a fun activity that I could
do this summer. I’ve never really done anything over the summer except for looking after Macie. She
thinks that I may like dance classes. My friend, Claire is taking dance classes so I’ll think about it. It
would be nice to do something fun with someone my own age instead of always doing something with a
five year old. As small as my middle school is, people have been nice to me and accepted me into their
group. I’ve never felt like I really belonged in a group before, it feels nice not to be the girl who sits in
the back of the class that no one notices. I have a name at school and people eat lunch with me all the
time and study with me. Its nice to be a part of a community that welcomes “outsiders” like myself into
their circle.
Until next time,
Kassie
Poetry on Values
Full
Amazing
I n-depth
Thoughtful
Humble

8. -
Heart
Optimistic
Persistent
Empowering
-
Loyal
Overflowing
Vast
Enduring
Value: Community

9. On a long and sometimes lonelyday your brainmay takeyou toa sad place
But just takea lookat those smilingfamiliarfaceswavingacrossthe way
In an instantyou realizethatthose smilingpeoplehelp fillthatempty space
And suddenly that lonelyfeeling barely even leaves a trace
Thatsense ofcommunityand friendshipnever ceases to makeone’s day

10. Tammi
Whois…compassionate,smart,energetic,andgiving
Whostrivesto…workhard,smileoften,andloveothers
Whoadmires…thestrengthofotherpeople,dedicationtohelpingothers,andoptimists
Whowishes…forpeaceandpositivity
Whoenjoys….Thejourneymorethanthedestinationandgenuinepeople
Whovalues…personalexcellence,community,faith,andloyalty
Hanzalik

11. Value:Friendship
Friendshipisnotsomethingthatcanbeseenconcretelysuchasabucketorjacket
But insteadisafeelingof togethernessthatisfilledwithlaughter,encouragement,andfun
Friendshipisthattearyeyed2amphone callthatyou’renotafraidto makebecauseyouknowsomeonewill
beonthe otherend
It maynotbea physicalbucketbut,friendshipfillsourinvisiblebucketswithjoyand comradery
Friendshipisn’twearablejacketbutithastheabilitytowrapyouup withloveand understanding
Friendshipmaynotbephysicallyseenbutitiscertainlyfelt

12. Value:Persistence
Persistencemeansnevergivingupjustbecausethepiecesdon’tquitefitanymore
First,youwill undoubtedlyfail
Then, youwill befeel asifthe worldiscrashingdownaroundyou
After sometime,youwillstarttopickbackup thepiecesforyour mosaicthatwecalllife
Slowlybutsurely,youwill putthosepiecesintoanewdesignthatyoucouldhave neverpreviouslyimagined.
Eventually,allthosemismatchedpieceswillfitperfectlytogetherbecauseyoudidn’tletthebrokenglasskeep
you frommakinga beautifullife

13. Value:Loyalty
By myside
Neverceasingtoupliftme
Withalisteningear

14. Cause and Effect of living your values

15. Cause: deciding to
followyour own
set of your values
after being
pressuredto do
the opposite.
A greater sense of the
world as well as yourself
greater chance of making
your desired impact on
the community
further establishes
yourself as an individual

16. Take what you value and share it
with others
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17. What areyour values: Questionnaire
1. Ofthe three choices, whatdo feel best represents howoften you followyour
values?
a. All the time
b. Some of the time
c. Rarely
2. In the line below, name one of your most important values….
___________________________________________
3. What do you value in other people?
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
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18. One should believe in their values
Have you felt forced to compromise your values and who you are as a person in order to
please another person or a group of people? We have all been there and had to make the decision
to either stray from what you believe in or stick with your values and possibly be ostracized. So,
the real question lies which is better, to stick with your values or adjust your beliefs in order to fit
into the crowd. In my opinion if you feel the need to alter who you are in order to fit in with a
group then those people aren’t actually the people for you. Every individual has something

19. different to offer to a group, including their own set of values. If we lose sight of our values, we
have the potential to misplace a crucial piece of our identity.