1st anniversary of the KEiiNOfans fangroup

Today we celebrate the first anniversary of the official KEiiNO fangroup of Facebook: KEIINOFANS. It was set up on September 24th by André Thomassen Haugen, in the hope of gathering all KEiiNO fans in the world for chats, news, KEiiNO-talk and more.

Early January I joined, saw there was a job free as moderator, I applied with butterflies in my stomach, I got the job, but André had a chat with the deputy admin, Diana, and they agreed I had the skills they needed for a third admin in the team, so I was offered this position after hardly 24 hours as moderator, and said thank you, I would love to. It has been a journey – three different people learning to work together to reach a common goal, has not always been easy, but what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger, and the three of us now have a solid friendship where we privately carry each other through hard times and cover for one another if we need a break from the admin jobs. Diana and André truly has made a difference to my life, the past months, thank you.

But not only André and Diana deserve this praise – several other people do too. KEiiNO themselves, my tiny family of two daughters who have their own struggles, their dad and not least my amazing friends who are not friends but FAMILY to me. You all know who you are and I love you.

For me, being a part of the fangroup, talking with fellow KEiiNO fans about KEiiNO and their music, providing other fans with news, translated articles for international members etc., means a lot. This group is the first I check every day when my kids have left for school.

Coming there every day and see how many of the fans interact with one another and comment in the discussion threads we have, play along in the games, it warms my heart. Especially because this group is so friendly. A lot of groups have lots of fights and are filled with kings and queens. KEIINOFANS is filled with friendly people, it really is a joy. 

For me, KEiiNO, as a group, is in my top list of the few “things” that means everything to me. Their music reaches inside and touches some strong buttons inside my emotions. “Spirit in the sky” is guaranteed to lift my mood and make me feel better on any dark day. 

KEiiNO, as the persons they are, mean a lot to me, by being loving, kind and thoughtful people. They inspire to struggle through waves, to stand strong and to be ourselves. And where they are today, show that belonging to one or more minority groups that are being bullied and picked on, does not necessarily mean failure in life. Straighten your back, stay strong, believe in yourself and work towards your dreams and they will, one day, come true. 

Sharing their stories with us about their own struggles, showing their vulnerable sides and how they overcame their battles, gave ME the strength to fight back when I had given up last year, and was close to an end. 

Every day is still a struggle, for reasons only a few of you know about, but thinking of KEiiNO, listen to their wonderful music, having the privilege of doing a little “something” for them through this group, coming to this group and see all you nice and happy people every day, make the difference every single day. 

Lots of love to all KEiiNOfans members

From Karina Brandt