Wow! Can you believe it? It is already February, and you know what happened the first week of February at Northview High School? The most extravagant, greatest night of the whole year. Yes, even greater than homecoming. It is the international night!

This is the single night of the year when everyone comes together and forgets their worries and instead, celebrates their diversity and love for others. This the day of the year when tickets sell out within days of going on sale, and a whole week is set aside just to celebrate. The day when so many talented and amazing acts come together to give the show of a lifetime to a thrilling and encouraging audience who expects nothing more. The acts ranged from instrumentals to singing to dancing, each unique in their own way. It ranges from people, too — all of us proud of who we are.

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Last year for international night, I was part of the thrilling audience, but this year I was backstage, and let me tell you, it is not the same.

Being backstage for every performance, rehearsal and applause is like seeing everything from a new light — both figuratively and literally. Literally, you can see the people, and figuratively, you see each symbolic dance by the people who love their country. All the performers rely on the curtains, lights and microphones being perfectly run by those backstage. They, along with the performers, had to stay at school till 10 p.m. at least so that the production of everyone's favorite night was nothing less than perfect.

This year, I was in charge of the curtains opening and closing on time, or what my friends now call me: "curtain girl." I had to ensure that at every black out, the curtains opened and closed at the right time while also making sure that all the people in the acts get off the stage.

Being curtain girl was great, because not only did I get to see performances without big heads in the way, l also saw the differences between the audiences present for the two shows. The lively audiences would be chanting for the next act even before we opened the curtains. And though I couldn't chant along with them, I was blown away by the performances brought on stage by people of Indian backgrounds, American-born acts and some from Russian heritage. It showed me that when everyone puts their minds together, amazing-ness is produced.

The night was a blast, everything was what everyone expected, except 10 times better. I look forward to doing it again soon. So look out, curtain girl is coming back for even more fun next year!