Welcome to the first issue of my newsletter!   To kick off the newsletter, I'm going to talk about the photo in this issue's header. Yesterday, my sister and I went on a walk and it started pouring. On the way home, the rain cleared up and a rainbow appeared. If you look closely, you can see a second one to the right. Double rainbow!! Its giving raise your pride flags, be who you are for your pride. Happy Pride Month btw!   With all the chaos and mess that can go on in our lives, I think it's important to remember to chase that rainbow that comes after the rain, but to also appreciate the rain for giving us the rainbow.   For me, the rain has been the last few weeks of the uni semester. It has been so crazily busy and there have definitely been some bumps in the road. I don't think I've ever been so challenged in this way before, so I'd like to acknowledge some of the things that have happened in this time.           Games Showcase!!   We recently had the opportunity to present our board game! We put our blood, sweat and tears into this project and the general consensus was really great!! I'd like to thank everyone that showed up - it was really nice to see and feel ur support!       I'd also like to congratulate Jas and Jenny for winning Best Thematic Game for Crimson Descent! I know how hard you worked and I'm so proud of u!           Dean’s Honours List!   2 for 2 baby!!! I was so grateful to be on the Dean’s List for my second year of uni. Thanks to the friends who were a part of this journey, and the family that made it all possible!       I'd also like to speak to the future; the rainbows ahead, so to speak.   I'm lucky to share this birthday month of June with a few friends! Yesterday was Caroline's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMA!!! Can't wait to celebrate with u soon! Also a shout out to Phoebe as well, whose birthday is quickly approaching on the 14th!! Can't wait to celebrate with u too!   I know for some (maybe many) of us, the future is a topic of great stress. Where will I be in 5 years time? God, I don't even know where I will be in one year. Through this worry, I am glad to be surrounded by people who are constantly uplifting me and who I hope to be constantly uplifting as well. If you're reading this, you rock and you're gonna do great things!           A question for the culture   Recently, Charli xcx announced her upcoming album "Music, Fashion, Film" (not the cleanest segue but oh well). The album cover features John Cale, Marc Jacobs and Martin Scorsese as the representative figures of the title, and as a Charli cover does, prompted people to discuss who their three would be.       For me, I would say my music would be Lorde (Melodrama has been on repeat for me recently - SOOO GOOD), my fashion would be Jonathan Anderson (who's doing a crazy number of collections for Dior, Uniqlo, JW Anderson each year), and my film would be Hayao Miyazaki (who can resist a good Ghibli film). I'm interested to hear who you guys would pick as your cultural icons.   I think it's so interesting what we each take from culture and how deeply we resonate with it. Especially in an age where AI is threatening to dominate cultural input, it's so important to recognise the humans that provoke thought, inspire ideas and leave their mark on our personal ethos. I know for sure that I would rather experience a Claude Monet exhibition than a claude.ai one.   That's it from me for this time! I would love to hear about your rains and rainbows as well, dearest gentle readers.   I will end the newsletter with a quote that prompted this issue's introspection.   "There's always gonna be another mountain, I'm always gonna wanna make it move. Always gonna be an uphill battle, sometimes I'm gonna have to lose. Ain't about how fast I get there, ain't about what's waiting on the other side, it's the climb."   Until next time,   Ryan         Ryan Pham