Hello! My name is Sho Sho Leigha Ho and I am an academic sophomore/social junior (due to my COVID-spurred gap year). I grew up in the heart of Silicon Valley and went to an all girls’ high school named Castilleja. I was lucky to have spent four formative years in Shanghai in elementary and middle school, and I plan to return abroad after graduation, though I may not end up in Shanghai right away. 

Writing introductions is a fun and meaningful way to reflect, and I find this to be especially true when I compare my current perception of self to my past perceptions of self. Before I describe myself as of today to you, I’d like you to read my prefrosh introduction on the Harvard 2023 Instagram page. Viewing vestiges of your younger self can be embarrassing, but I was surprised to see that many of my core values have stayed the same.

“Hello, friends! My name is Sho Sho Leigh Ho, and I’m from the San Francisco Bay Area.

⁃While I was born and raised in California, I spent four years abroad in Shanghai from 3rd to 6th grade.

-I enjoy squash, social theory, succulents, and serenades.

⁃My favorite book series from my childhood is “Anne of Green Gables.” I am currently reading a lot of bell hooks, and I particularly love her book “All About Love.” ⁃I love rewatching classic movies such as “The Sound of Music” and “Mary Poppins,” and I cry without fail during the ten-minute montage in “Up.” ⁃My music taste is pretty incohesive; I enjoy listening to indie rock, pop, opera, musical theater, and country (yeehaw?). Some artists I consistently return to include Maggie Rogers, LANY, Novo Amor, Kendrick Lamar, Mitski, Kacey Musgraves, Glass Animals, and BTS. ⁃My love language is sending people New Yorker articles that they occasionally read. ⁃I read Mary Oliver’s poetry to ground and inspire me (swipe to read one of my favorite poems!)

⁃I’ve been spoiled by California boba and weather, and I look forward to systematically sampling the boba in Boston and welcome advice on how to brave the brutal East Coast winter.

⁃My favorite thing to do is ride my bike up and down the hills near my house, with my doge running behind me. ⁃I recently picked up yoga, and I am looking for yoga buddies!! At Harvard, I look forward to maintaining a child-like sense of wonder, adventuring, and having soul-expanding experiences!

I would love to hear from you guys, and I am looking forward to getting to know all of you more. :) #harvard2023”

What stands out to me from my introduction is the excitement I clearly have for Harvard. Here are the important things that have stayed the same. I still enjoy social theory, to the point where I am concentrating in it (yay, Social Studies). My favorite book is still Anne of Green Gables. My favorite poem is still “When Death Comes” by Mary Oliver. I still love rewatching classic movies such as “The Sound of Music” and “Mary Poppins,” and I do indeed cry without fail during the ten-minute montage in “Up.” 

Harvard can be a tough place. There’s a lot to navigate before you get to your pocket of amazing, your community of people that bring color to your college experience. Reflecting on my prefrosh intro now, I am struck by how crucial preserving a child-like sense of wonder and grounding oneself in soul-expanding experiences is in terms of surviving and hopefully thriving at the college. 

Today, I am proud to say I have found my pockets of amazing, which provided me with a direction and larger sense of purpose during a trying sophomore year. I serve as President of the Franklin Fellowship and find emotional intimacy through the dinners; I choreographed for the Asian American Dance Troupe and was proud to form a community within my dance; I host poker games– I plan on writing about poker for my thesis– and bond with my fellow degens; I became involved in theater through the Harvard Radcliffe Dramatic Club and performed in two shows. 

And of course, I lead and founded the Harvard Feminist Collective, which I will expand upon in the Story of Us section.