It was your typical first week of classes; professor passes out a syllabus and you ponder the easiest and quickest way in which you can achieve an A in the course. That was until I walked into Writing 205 where the rest of the class and me were informed that our class was “special”. By this I mean that in addition to completing a regular class workload we would also be responsible for 20 hours of community service, also known as service learning. The class went quiet, many students immediately going to their phones, tablets, and computers to find any other classes to switch into. For myself, on the other hand, I took a different perspective. Growing up in Syracuse, I have been granted a wide range of opportunities from my community that have allowed me to thrive and prosper, one of these being the Say Yes to Education program which grants students from Syracuse City Schools the ability to attend prestigious colleges at little to no cost. I will forever be grateful for all of these opportunities and feel one small way to give back to my community would be to partake in this service learning course. 
	After deciding that I would remain in the class I asked myself  “Why community service in a writing class? Aren’t there a variety of other classes that this would fit more appropriately?” What I didn’t realize was how this course is much more than just researching and writing about what you find. It requires you to open up your mind and evaluate the work that you are completing and then reflect upon yourself. The goal of this class is not only to achieve academic success but also to understand yourself and become a better person because of it.
	After evaluating the work that I have completed throughout this course I have been able to make various connections with it and my future work with service learning. One of these connections is the potential relationship between the Francis House and the Frye text about oppression. According to Frye, oppression is the process of one group, usually of a higher power, taking advantage of another group for their benefit. The oppressed group is trapped because of a “double-bind” where no matter what the decision they make there will always be a consequence. This leads to the oppressed choosing to simply accept the mistreatment. After reading this text I couldn’t help but think about the possibility of oppression in the Francis House. The patients in this home are a vulnerable group that can easily be taken advantage of under the wrong care. I am sure that a majority of the caregivers at the Francis House are great people but all it takes is one bad volunteer and oppression could begin to blossom. 
	Another connection that I found between my service learning placement and the work we’ve completed so far lies within the Madison text, specifically when she states “we must still be accountable for the consequences of our representations and the implications of our message, because they matter.” Today I began my service placement work and it was interesting to see something very similar to this quote occur. I was speaking with a fellow volunteer who had been there for several years. She said that whenever she speaks with her friends about her volunteer work they question her and ask “Why would you want to work at a place with so much death? I could never do that.” This exemplifies how people formulate opinions without knowing exactly what they are talking about which can lead to consequences. For example, what if someone interested in volunteering asked that same person her opinion and they gave that same response? Do you think this person would still be interested in volunteering? I’m sure it would at least make them second-guess their decision. This text helped me understand that if you do not have sufficient information on a topic it is best to withhold from commenting on the subject.
