Name: Brian Mason Yu
Hometown: Walnut, California
Relationship Status: Single
Year at Cal: Junior
Major: English Major/ Theater Minor
What are a few of your hobbies/interests?
I enjoy the delicate emotional precision that comes with producing poetry. Sometimes I also venture into the realm of spoken word, and was once fortunate enough to be invited to come speak at a literary festival as a slam poet. I also enjoy playwriting, short stories, and sometimes even write prose (though one can certainly say that there are prose and cons associated with each genre of writing). I am unabashedly fond of Broadway musicals, though given the amazing talents of my peers here at Berkeley; I wish I was more musi-Cal. I also enjoy stargazing to keep me grounded, as well as archery because sometimes you just have to take a bow.
Your bio says that you are a Public Speaker, how did you get into that?
Really really slowly. I was a terrible public speaker in the beginning. I stuttered, used notecards, and remember once giving a speech on California’s water crisis at the back of a Chinese restaurant for a Speech contest. But I was determined to work at it, and remember just standing in my backyard whether the sun was out or there was rain and practicing my speeches over and over again until I got it right. I eventually worked my way up and reached the point where my public speaking allowed me to travel everywhere from such places as local city halls around L.A. all the way up to Washington D.C. I also feel fortunate that my public speaking has allowed me to do things ranging from advocating for increased Veterans Benefits for the Veterans of Foreign Wars to helping raise money for Leukemia or speaking at Relay for Life and even hosting concerts for charity at such venues as UCLA and city halls.
Describe your typical day here at Cal.
My alarm clock usually wakes me up around eleven. I grunt, and turn it off and go back to sleep for ten more minutes. When I finally wake up twenty minutes later, I step into the shower where I proceed to hold the most epic concert of all time…until someone bangs on the door concerned because the singing noises emanating from my mouth sound very similar to a dying pig.
Then I walk to school listening to Broadway showtunes while eating an apple. Usually if I see something interesting, I’ll write in down in my Moleskine so I can use it as material for my poetry later.
Then I’ll go to class which consists of English Classes on M/W/F and Acting classes on T/Th. During a certain English class, I will speak with a British accent in order to keep things interesting. After talking with a British accent the first day of class and successfully convincing my teacher that I was a British exchange student, I decided to just run with it.
If I don’t have meetings, leadership class, or theater rehearsal, I will go home after and have dinner before starting on schoolwork. Around one or two, I’ll typically go for a walk and end up stargazing for a bit before returning to my dorm to crank out some poetry or stories. Then I’ll meditate, shower, and make a list of all the things I’ve learned that day as well as journal my thoughts, before going to bed and waiting for my alarm to ring so I can start the day all over again.
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Someone who shows love and kindness to everyone around them, including themselves. While it is sometimes hard to find girls who are kind to others, it’s even harder to find girls who are kind to themselves. I believe firmly that if people just showed themselves the same amount of love and consideration they show others, the world would be a much happier place.
Describe your idea of the perfect date.
November 3rd. It’s usually not too cold or not too hot but just about right for sweater weather. But all things considered, it doesn’t matter so much where you go as much as whom you’re with. I’ve had more fun on some dates eating hot dogs and walking around a park, then I have at Disneyland.
Who are your favorite writers?
All the lovely staff at Hercampus.com of course. Charles Dickens is an author that I still find absurdly funny to this day. I’m also quite fond of the poet Rumi. I also find the writings of Steve Martin to be surprisingly melancholic and achingly beautiful. Also quite a huge John Green fan.
If I weren’t at Cal I would be __________.
If I weren’t at Cal I would be probably backpacking through Europe.
Who is your celebrity crush?
Anne Hathaway. Let’s just say She Hathaway of making my heart stop in my chest.
What is your favorite restaurant at Cal?
Lotus House. Portuguese Chicken is to die for (also quite worth skipping out on lectures for).
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Watching people’s faces after they’ve read something I’ve wrote or their applause after I just finished performing. The beach is also nice.
What do you hope to accomplish in the future?
Whether it be through comedy, music, art, writing, plays or poetry-it is simply this: to tell stories that touch people’s lives.