The Art of Friendship

This week’s theme at Falling Creek is Friendship.

And let’s be honest—friendship is one of the biggest hopes (and sometimes fears) that comes with sending your child anywhere new. Whether it’s camp, school, or college, every parent wonders:
Will my child find a friend?
Will someone want to sit beside him at breakfast? Pick him for the team? Get who he really is?

At Falling Creek, we believe friendship isn’t just something that happens by chance. It’s something we cultivate.

We call it brotherhood—but it all begins with friendship.

From the moment a camper steps out of the car on Opening Day, our counselors are already setting the tone. They learn names. Connect personalities. Make space for the quiet ones and gently nudge the early leaders. Each cabin becomes its own little community, and it doesn’t take long for those bonds to start forming.

You might have seen glimpses of this already this past week—on the Family Feud stage, where boys backed each other up with buzzer-speed answers and belly laughs. Or in the kitchen, where staff and campers connected over second helpings and friendly jokes. Even this weekend’s big games showed it—teams made up of different cabins, cheering like old friends. Those moments may look like fun and games, but at their core, they’re friendship in action.

But the real magic happens in the in-between.

In the walk to breakfast. The shared joke about bug spray. The paddle across the lake. The slow build of a conversation that starts with, “What do you like to do at home?” and turns into, “Want to sign up for that activity together?”

What we see here every summer is that boys are learning something powerful—not just how to make a friend, but how to be one.

Because friendship, like any art, takes practice.

• It’s letting someone else go first.
• It’s listening when someone misses home.
• It’s cheering when your friend finally makes it to the top of the climbing wall.
• It’s forgiving quickly. Laughing often. And not keeping score.

And when boys live this way, something beautiful begins to grow.

Cabinmates become teammates. Teammates become friends. And friends? They become something even deeper.

Not always by blood—but by choice.