Before I introduce myself, I fully understand that there are people much more in need than I. People suffering greatly and I implore you, if you have the money, donate to their cause. I will be okay.

That being said, if you have extra money, please. Please consider donating.

My name River Koenig, and this is my story.

These pictures are from when I lived in Norway, five years ago. Right now, I am in Norway for a visit, a birthday present from my mother. My parents have very little money—my mother has given what she can, and my father won’t give me more than he has already, saving it for fixing the trailer home we have in Arizona. My family has never had much money, only enough to live in the aforementioned trailer home and small apartments. We moved to Norway from Arizona when I was 12, and so many of my core memories are here in Norway, with Arizona being barely a blur. We moved back to the states, AZ, when I was 16, when my parents divorced. It was not my choice to move, obviously. And I hated it almost immediately. I feel trapped there, trapped in hillbilly suburbia and dust and the wreckage of the American dream. And now I’m newly 19, and ICE is storming Arizona, storming the entire country, and I’m terrified of returning there once my visit is done. I think I will have to, unfortunately, but there is hope. I’ve been accepted into the American College of Norway for Fall of 2026, and if I can scrape together enough money for the tuition, I can apply for a study permit and move back to Norway. I have a place/places to stay here, and a network to support me. I have everything I need here, except for the money. $10k (100,000kr) for a year at the college, $10k to show the immigration department that I can support myself here. $20,000 (200,000 Norwegian krones) in total. It’s a lot, and I’m going to try and make as much money as I can. Once my visit is over, I plan to get two jobs and work my ass off. But I’m so scared that the money from those won’t be enough whatsoever. I’m fresh out of high school, no credentials, and the job market in my tiny town in AZ is shrunken and sad.

Norway is my home, more than America ever was. I love it here, and I’m scared to go back to desert hell, with ICE trigger-happy and the country falling apart.

If you have the money to spare, I would be eternally grateful to you. However much I can raise, it can help. Ten dollars from 1,000 people is $10,000, after all. And that’s halfway there.

Thank you so much for reading.

Have a beautiful day.

<3

Edit: My dad said he might fund me the rest of the way if I make at least half of what I need! However, even if he does help out, I still need as much as I can get for the rest of my schooling—I’m hoping to apply to the Norwegian Academy of Music after a year, which is 220,000kr/year for international students :,) so yeah. I won’t be changing the amount I’m gunning for on here, since I hope that I am able to make enough myself, and I don’t want to ask for more since I’m already asking for so much. But god, yeah, I need as much as I can get. I wanted to provide this update because I want to be as honest and open with everyone as possible. And I promise you, every single dollar is going towards my move to Norway and my education.

Thank you all so much.

So much love <3