Diversity in the World of Sci-fi

Hello everyone, and Happy Monday. At least try to make it happy.

Well, for my college, we are in Finals Week, the second to worst week of the semester, with Hell Week being the absolute worst. I don't have any "final exams," per se. However, I have two papers (one is turned in already), a take-home final, and a portfolio, all of which are due by the end of the week. Then....FREEDOM!!!!

Today, I would like to share with you the differences and similarities in my main characters from each novel. The idea is based on an activity that someone who works at the college came up with. This activity includes standing back-to-back with one other person, and stepping away from each other if there are any differences noted. Then, the two participants have to turn around and look at each other. When there are similarities that are noted, the two participants have to step forward toward each other. This is a very powerful activity to use at meetings or other events because this teaches us to become more open-minded about other people from all different walks of life.

I will give you the similarities first, since David Ingram (Rockybado), Andrew Grzedek (The Jazzy Island of Dinosaurs), and Levi Cranston (The Magic Video Game) look relatively similar.

Similarities:
* David, Andrew, and Levi have brown hair.
* They all play tennis in high school and college.
* The three boys are athletic.
* David, Andrew, and Levi play video games.
* They have all had their tonsils taken out at some point in their lives (David's brother, Brody, also had his tonsils taken out).
* The three boys do share similar interests in a lot of different aspects.
* David, Andrew, and Levi are white.
* They are all about the same height, 5'11".
* The three boys love science fiction.
* David, Andrew, and Levi keep their hair about the same way.
* They graduated near the top of their high school class.
* The three boys love funny movies and game shows.
* David, Andrew, and Levi are all excellent at math.
* Two of the three boys have had their appendix taken out at some point in their lives (Andrew when he was four, and Levi when he was in college).
* All three boys are in good relationships.
* The three boys are all incredible artists. They love to draw pictures.
* The three boys love roller coasters and amusement parks in general.
* David, Andrew, and Levi like the same kind of food: Italian, Mexican, and Chinese food.
* All three boys prefer rock music over other genres, and they realize that there are some rock bands that they really like.
* The three boys have cats at home.

Now, on to the differences.

David Ingram (Rockybado):
* David and his family do not normally go to church. But when they do, they go on Easter and Christmas Eve with their extended family.
* He has two older brothers, Dawson (now 29) and Brett (25), and two younger brothers, Brody (22) and Toby (19, was adopted).
* David can play the guitar, and he can sing very well.
* He is of English, Italian, some Irish, German, Greek, and some Polish descent. The Polish and Irish were not discovered until recently. However, he is still half English.
* David prefers car racing games because they are more fun.
* He attends college at a small university just thirty minutes away from Warsaw, Indiana.
* David studies Marketing and Finance in college.
* He had a girlfriend in high school, whose name is Cera Berringer. After the beginning of college, they broke up because they figured that the relationship would not work out. Now, he is dating Olivia Flavenshevich, a college classmate who is also from Crown Point.
* David's favorite color is blue, as is Brody's.
* David's birthday is on September 30, 1991.

Andrew Grzedek (The Jazzy Island of Dinosaurs):
* Andrew and his family are Catholic, but they are not strict.
* He is the oldest of five. His younger siblings are Caleb (now 21), Adam and Cameron (19), and Alyssa (almost 15). 
* Andrew is excellent on the piano, but he cannot sing well at all.
* He is three-quarters Polish, one eighth English and one eighth Irish.
* Andrew likes a variety of video games. He has no preference.
* He attends college in Valparaiso.
* Andrew studies Marketing and Spanish in college.
* He had a girlfriend in high school, whose name is Eliza Colbert. They broke up during their junior year in high school, since they went to different schools. Then, since college, they have been dating again.
* Andrew's favorite color is green.
* Andrew's birthday is on August 17, 1991.

Levi Cranston (The Magic Video Game):
* Levi is Jewish on his mother's side. They celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas, and Levi and his siblings have had a bat/bar mitzvah.
* He has two older half sisters, Louise (34) and Elizabeth Baranovsky (33), two older sisters, Victoria (26) and Olivia (25), and one younger sister, Evelyn Maeve (15, was adopted).
* Levi does not play a musical instrument, but he has been interested in taking up the guitar before.
* He is of Irish, English, Italian, Polish, French, Israeli, and possible Spanish descent. 
* Levi prefers classic video games.
* He attends college in Angola, Indiana.
* Levi is studying Biomedical Engineering.
* He has had a girlfriend since four days after he had his tonsils taken out in October 2005. Her name is Mackenzie Burbanks. They have been dating since then.
* Levi's favorite color is red.
* Levi's birthday is on October 30, 1991.

See? Diversity matters. No matter how similar you may look, you will come across so many differences. I am sure that there are so many more differences with these three guys, but ten is all I will give you right now. In the meantime, I am off to a celebration at my job.

Until the weekend,

B. Levi