You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.
This saying could mean something to you. Or, it could mean nothing. It could bring up images of a coffee mug, a bumper sticker, or a quote from a song. It is a cliche, an adage overused and rendered less potent with time. And yet, it captures a fundamental human truth.
During Community Meetings, you’ve heard dozens of senior speeches, more stats announcements than you can count, and SLC performances that blend together into a weird image of teachers rolling around on skateboards in your mind. Many of these speeches, announcements, and performances you have forgotten; a few may stand out, and a few you may have even strongly disliked. I used to think these moments were meaningless. The speeches sometimes felt too long, the announcements were unnecessary (we have email for a reason), and the SLC competitions were always rigged. But as I reach the end of my years at Sonoma Academy, I’ve come to realize that Community Meetings aren’t about liking every speech or valuing every announcement. They’re about being together, sharing special moments with each other, and supporting our community members as they highlight what is meaningful and valuable to them, whether that is a “Moment of…” a speech, or even a performance.
You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.
I remember the moment after I gave my senior speech. I looked around, greeted by the applause of my friends, teachers, and family. It felt like a pressure valve being released, a weight gently falling off my shoulders. I had just made myself extremely vulnerable, and as I walked off stage, I basked in the support of my Sonoma Academy community. Whether or not my speech stays in anyone else’s mind, what mattered to me the most was that I had shown up with what I had, and it was received with warmth and love.
Everyone brings something unique to the stage when they participate in Community Meetings. I remember sitting in the front row when Darren gave his first “Moment of Bus.” As he projected images of the developments to his renovation project, there were claps, yells, and shouts of encouragement. It was a moment that would likely be forgotten in the minds of most students within a couple of minutes, but the communal embrace of an individual project has stayed with me to this day.
You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.
As a senior, I have started to treasure these moments of being together much more than I have in my previous years at S.A. The standing ovation after Darren’s “Moment of Bus” will stay in my mind for a long time, a snapshot of a united community celebrating one of our members’ achievements. All the speeches, performances, and moments enhance our community and allow students to support each other and put themselves out there in an authentic way. I also have come to recognize the uniqueness of this opportunity. I can’t imagine a community meeting experience quite like Sonoma Academy’s at any other school. Our students choose to put themselves out there and choose to make clubs, performances and speeches that reflect how much each of us deeply cares about enhancing the community. I remember in my freshman year, feeling as if Community Meeting would never end. Now, a part of me wishes they would last forever.
You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.
We take the moments together for granted. We complain, we roll our eyes, and we space out. But then, the time comes to leave Sonoma Academy. We go on with our future, start our adult lives, and leave behind the senior speeches and Moments of Bus and performances and reflections and Coyote Cup Competitions without a second thought. Maybe you’ll never think back on Community Meeting fondly. Maybe it will never cross your mind again. But I propose that those moments that Sonoma Academy gathered together impacted you more than you realize. It’s one of the pieces of the puzzle that makes you one little photo in your life’s collage.
If you read this article and it comes off as a little cliche, a little over the top, it’s because it is. Because some cliches give us glimpses of truths so fundamental that they need to be repeated over and over again. Life keeps moving, change is inevitable, and these precious moments slip through your fingers, even if you try to grasp onto them, even if you, like me, want Community Meeting to last a couple of minutes longer. So treasure them. Next time someone gives a moment or a speech or a performance, take in the applause, the cheering, and the love that Sonoma Academy creates. Clap a little louder, laugh a little harder, and enjoy these fleeting moments, these moments of that go by so fast.
You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.