ABOUT ME / A PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY
The making
of me.
I'm Harris, a student at HFI. I love building things from scratch. Sports are about community; photography is how I see and feel the world. History and family memories keep me asking who we become, and why.
a work in progress, always.
Read my story ↓
Harris Zhang / HFI
a little younger, just as curious
hello, I'm Harris
FAMILY STORIES · LANGUAGE · DANCE · IMAGES · MEMORY
FIVE CHAPTERS, STILL UNFOLDING ↓
01 / AGE 06 · BEGINNINGS
Stories first. Questions later.
I was a quiet kid when I started primary school. My grandfather, once a soldier and later a police officer, loved talking about history, current events, and his own past. I spent a lot of time listening beside him. Looking back, that was probably where my interest in history and society began.
the stories I grew up with
Grandfather, in uniform
history began at home.
finding confidence, one performance at a time
Then I found another language.
Around the same time, my mother encouraged me to learn street dance. Years of performances and competitions gradually made me more confident and expressive.
learning by moving
a world beyond the familiar
travels with my family
SALT LAKE CITY / AGE 09
Learning to ask for help.
02 / AGE 09 · LANGUAGE
A world beyond the classroom.
When I was nine, my family missed a flight connection on a trip to Salt Lake City. My parents struggled to communicate in English, so I repeatedly asked airport staff for help with tickets and luggage. That experience showed me that language was more than a school subject. It was a way to understand the world beyond where I grew up.
03 / AGE 15 · PHOTOGRAPHY
Learning to look closer.
Around fifteen, I became interested in photography. What first drew me in was the habit of observing: paying attention to people, spaces, movement, and small moments that are easy to miss in everyday life. Over time, photography became one of the ways I understand the world around me.
people, spaces, small moments.
THE CAMERA WAS A BEGINNING.
Observation became a habit.
04 / AGE 16 · PARTICIPATION
Making things. Finding myself.
In high school, I started spending more time organizing projects, filming events, and working with different groups of people. Around the same time, I returned to street dance after years away from it. Practicing alone, performing on stage again, and balancing media work with dance made me more comfortable expressing myself in different ways.
BEHIND THE CAMERA
Organizing. Filming. Connecting.
BACK ON STAGE
Practicing. Performing. Expressing.
back on stage, finding my rhythm again
a different kind of focus
making + moving
05 / AGE 17 · MEMORY
What remains after a moment?
Over time, photography and media led me toward history, memory, and storytelling. I became curious about the things people choose to remember, the things they avoid talking about, and how experiences continue to shape later generations long after an event has ended.
I'm still learning how to ask.
CURRENT QUESTIONS
What do we carry forward?
The stories we tell. The silences we inherit. The questions we keep.
HISTORY / IDENTITY / MEMORY
notes to my future self
The threads continue.