When I walked into school on Monday, adorned in my red, white and blue attire, I didn’t know what to expect. My class had agreed to dress in the colors of the American flag, and I held myself to a pretty high standard. I even decided to wear red shoes. However, I wasn’t sure if my classmates would match my enthusiasm.

It turns out my fears were unfounded, as the Class of 2014 made a strong showing this week, uniting behind a series of grade-wide “psychs.”

Last Friday, WHS said goodbye to the graduating Class of 2013, promoting the juniors from the Class of 2014 to “top dog” status. Although we have yet to officially inherit the proverbial keys to the school, the Class of 2014 is now the eldest class at WHS and has already begun to feel the effects of senior year. As a member of this grade, I’m both excited and concerned.

Before this week, our grade seemed to lack unity in any sense of the word. Class of 2014 hadn’t had any full-class outings outside of school. Even heavily anticipated events, such as the sophomore semi-formal dance and the junior prom, proved to be awkward experiences, in my opinion. Conversations at these events were strained due to our lack of collaboration as a grade. It’s hard to hold up a conversation with people you don’t know.

Because of times like those, the thought of the Class of 2014 as seniors made me wince. But recently, with the Class of 2013 gone, that has all changed.

Over the weekend, our usually stagnant “Class of 2014” group on Facebook came to life. Classmates I hadn’t talked to in years were chiming in about what we should do during our first week as the oldest students in the school. A massive, grade-wide brainstorm began, and our classmates began working together cooperatively to great effect. The result of our discussion was an entire week’s worth of “psychs,” a specific, grade-wide dress code aimed at raising excitement for senior year.

As I have looked around the school this week, it has become clear that my peers have stepped up. Almost every member of the Class of 2014 was wearing red, white and blue on Monday, some going so far as to cut star shapes into their shirts with scissors. On Tuesday, we lit up the halls of WHS with neon clothing. On Wednesday, it was jerseys.

If this week is foreshadowing next year, then I can proudly say that after three years, the Class of 2014 has finally found its identity. We’ve caught “senior fever,” and it is spreading quickly. Symptoms include a sudden sense of community, something I feel could not have been found at a better time.