Adding String variables to an Array of differing size

I'm coding for a personal project and I've ran into a roadblock for me. I want to add string values to an array that changes size depending on how many values there are. Here's an example:

str_val_init = ["Hello","World","How","Are","You"];
str_val_need = zeros([1 x])
x = 0;
num = [2,3,3] %the real num array is random
for idx = 1:numel(num)
    ind = num(idx)
    if ind == 2
        x = x + 1
        str_val_need = str_val_init(1,1);
    elseif ind == 3
        x = x + 1
        str_val_need = str_val_init(1,2)
    else
    end
end

I keep getting the error "Unable to perform assignment because value of type 'string' is not convertible to 'function_handle'." Really I just want to know how to continue adding string values to an array that changes size.

[Steven Lord]

This seems quite similar to this other Answers post in which Cris LaPierre and I have posted answers. Perhaps you can use what you learned in that discussion here?