A Pioneer Pin

"In 1988 I became a pioneer for the first time. It was assumed that everyone in the school would take the pledge to abstain from alcohol until an adult age. I was 10 at the time and chose to not drink until the age of 21. Presumably it was a reaction to the alcohol problem in Ireland, using religion and catholic guilt to try and stop young people drinking. I clearly remember the feeling that you were making a promise to Jesus/God to not drink and if you broke that promise, that would be a sin and you would betray him. It was important to me to adhere to the promise at that young age. I came from a family that didn't consume much alcohol and wasn't around it much as a kid or in pubs so it didn't seem like a difficult thing to do but at the same time it made little sense considering I'd never even tried it. I was also confused by the fact that wine is a big part of the consecration at mass. "