Profiles Encourage: Rue

Hello everyone. Today we're talking with Rue. We have worked together for the past several years, and he's a stand-up comedian in his spare time. Which explains why we have sat around and had so many laughs at the office when we're really supposed to be doing work. Take it away, Rue.

Hi Rue. Let’s start with some basics. Tell me a little bit about your life. Where do you live and what do you do?

I live in Maryland and I work with a non-profit association as an expert in my field.

Now tell me a little bit about your background. What is your heritage? Where does your family come from, and do you have roots outside of the United States?

I am a black man of the African Diaspora, surviving offspring of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. My family is from Jamaica, West Indies.

Is there something about you – a physical characteristic, a personality trait, an aspect of your job or any part of your life – that is frequently misunderstood by people? If so, please tell me about it and what you would say to dispel that misunderstanding.

I don’t know whether there is anything about me that is frequently misunderstood. My overbite makes people think I am unattractive, but they are wrong. I am gorgeous! I think the fact that I perform on stages in front of small and large groups and do a good job at public speaking, many presume I am extroverted. I’m not. I don’t dispel it. I let them think whatever.

Let’s flip that around now. Tell me about a time you learned more about somebody – or something – after looking a little deeper, beyond the superficial.

Depending on what “superficial” is, I tend to talk to most people about more than the superficial. There’s always a story there. I don’t really remember stuff though so I can’t recall a specific time. Well, there was the one time…a coworker opened up to me about her sister who died from Lupus. We developed a bond.

What really drives you? What’s your reason for getting out of bed every day?

I am driven by curiosity, faith and responsibility. God gets me out of bed everyday, because there’s a purpose for my existence. I am curious to see what is gonna happen next. The world is full of surprises. The hope, the chance that stuff can get better is quite a motivator!

Tell me about a difficult period in your life, how you coped with it and how it made you stronger.

Probably the most difficult time in my life is when my baby brother died. I felt like I lost a part of myself. I have not completely recovered. I’m not sure it made me stronger, but it did teach me endurance and compassion.

We all know there’s no shortage of bad news out there. Now tell me what gives you hope and what’s good about the world.

What gives me hope is faith – the belief that this time, this season, this world is not all there is and that I can create eternal impact. Also, children give me hope. I believe they too have purpose.

Let’s have a little fun here. Tell me about your worst job. And if you haven’t had one, tell me about the most interesting one.

My worse job was…ummm…well they’ve all been pretty good. I guess the hardest one was when I was 16 and worked in an electric supply warehouse. It was a summer job. 8.5 hours a day! Four dollars an hour. Blue collar work, all day every day. Loading and unloading 18-wheelers, cutting wire, poles, cable. Stocking, un-stocking, NO AIR CONDITIONING all summer. I was dirty, hot, sweaty and tired every day after work when I boarded the Metrobus to go home. No one wanted to sit next to the dirty kid in the back of the bus. It taught me that I wasn’t made for this kind of work. I had to use my mind. It reinforced what I already knew: I’m going to college.

Now let’s talk about music. I need it every day. In the car, at the gym, in the kitchen, you name it. Tell me what you like and when you need to hear it.

Music heals, calms, excites, stimulates, educates, soothes, and entertains. When I don’t hear music, I make music. I rap! Eighties rap, though. Old. I need primarily reggae and gospel, and everything else, just in smaller doses.

Thanks Rue. Did we miss anything? Anything you’d like to add?

I’m getting married! She’s great. I hope I make her real happy.