Drake Lomax

Culture Paper:

          My name is Jared Drake Hayes Lomax. Not many people can say they have four names but I can. I was given the first name Jared because my dad’s name is Jonathan and my mom wanted the kid’s names to start with the letter J as well. I received the name Drake because my Mom liked it and she didn’t know anybody else named Drake. My other middle name, Hayes, also came from my Dad because his middle name is also Hayes which is sort of a family tradition. And of course we have the last name Lomax.

             I’ll first off give you an overview of my family. My Mom and Dad are Jonathan and Melissa Lomax. I have one brother, Jordan Brady Lomax. My Mom’s parents are Ronnie Sr. and Betty Jo Moore. My Dad’s mom is Vicky Lomax. Here in Douglas my Papa Ronnie is a very well-known name, anytime I’m introducing myself to someone, especially at Tractor Supply, they’re always like you’re Ronnie grandson. My entire life we lived basically in my Grandparents back yard so I’m always remembered because I was always with my Papa around town and at his work, Helena Chemical Company.

             A lot of my beliefs that I hold today came from my Papa, mainly because I spent the vast majority of my life with him up until he passed away when I was sixteen. As far back as I can remember I can remember my Papa always taking me everywhere with him. As a small boy I knew that every Sunday morning I could expect to see Papa’s white F-250 pulling up at my house to take me to Sunday school. I could never thank him enough for all those morning he picked me up for Sunday school and taught me what it meant to be a Christian. Because of the raising I had in church it has developed me into the man I am today. My Papa use to always tell me, “Don’t you let what all these other people are doing ruin you and make you like them. You are supposed to be different. You know better.” I’m thankful for the deep rooted faith I gained from all the time I spent with my Papa as a child.

My family, I guess you could same just a typical white family in a small town in Georgia, is very different in many ways. All the way up until my Papa passed every year for Easter, Christmas, and Thanksgiving all the family, by all I mean my Granny and Papa their four children and their four children’s children, would come to my Grandparents house to celebrate. We were always taught that no matter what you thought of some of your family they were still your family and you were to do everything you could to help them if they needed it. We were a very close family. Even now we don’t get together as much as we use to but anytime someone is sick or even in the hospital you can count on at least fifteen to twenty people showing up for it. We always look out for one another.

           For the majority of my life my Mom has worked at banks and because of this we were introduced to a very broad social circle. My Mama pretty much knows everybody. I hate anytime she wants me to go to town with her because I know we’ll end up talking to twenty or thirty people. My Mom introduced me to tons of different business people from her dealings with the bank. My Dad on the other hand worked at Fleetwood for years and years so he introduced me to a whole different side of society. My Papa worked at the chemical company so through him I was introduced to all the farmers. You could say that I pretty much know everybody and that I’ve been well socialized.

          Finally, I’ll tell you about how we were raised to know what’s right. First off we were raised in church, my entire life Sunday and Wednesday was church day. We were taught the Biblical way to live and we were taught it straight. I remember many time I’d go to Granny and Papa’s and hear them in the living room praying for all of us, calling us each by name. I was raised to pray, I remember as a young child, Papa was a deacon at the church, someone would call my Papa and tell him that such and such was sick or heading to the hospital and he’d tell me, “Son we’ve got to go to the back room and ask the Lord to help them, they really need a miracle.” That’s how I was raised and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in this world. I’m proud to be the way I am and I’m thankful for a family with a backbone that told all of us kids growing up that sin was wrong and it would send us to Hell, but they never stopped at that they always taught us about Jesus and his love for us as well. This is a little about my culture and how I was raised. I believe that I had the best raising a child can have and I’ve learned that if I’ll be true to my raisings it’ll all work out.