What Makes A Place Feel Like Home?

What makes a place feel like home?

“It’s a place that’s special.” – Stuart C., Houston, TX

“It’s a place you feel like you belong in.” – Mac C., Concord, NC

“Home” is a place that’s comfortable and familiar, where you have a feeling of safety and peace. Some boys even say that camp is a place that feels like a home to them.

Both Stuart and Mac are back for their 5th summers this year. It can take more than a single summer for camp to feel familiar, but for some campers the sense of belonging is immediate. “I went to Junior Camp first and it already felt like home then,” said Mac. “I came back the next year to a longer session to make sure.”

Stuart agreed, adding that he’s enjoying the longer Main Camp session even more because there’s “so many choices” and there’s more time to try things.

“I came for the 2-Week session before, and by the second week it felt like home. I also liked coming for Father/Son Weekend because home is a place you get to experience with your family. I got to experience camp with my dad which made it feel like home too.”

Leuven F. came to camp for the first time in 2018. “Home is a sense of community and belonging,” he said. Leuven feels that community at camp when he’s in his favorite activities, like nature or arts & crafts.

“It’s a community that you get to choose.”

Camp feels like home to me because of the surrounding environment. Your cabin is in nature, and it’s a place where you can all be together. I feel more connected here because there’s less distraction.

–Hayes P., Glen Echo, MD

Judd and Ike C. are brothers, so they share a home outside of camp too. But getting to enjoy camp together has helped their relationship grow stronger.

“I get to share this experience with him in a place I love so much,” said Judd. Being the younger brother, Ike shrugged when asked if he enjoyed being at camp with his big brother. Despite playing it cool in front of me, as soon as I started walking away, I heard Ike ask his brother, “what are you doing for Free Choice time?” and wondered if they could sit together at dinner.

Freddy Somers is a DASH team member this summer, and his first year at camp was in 2017.

“I remember when I first came to Falling Creek, my mom told me that camp was a place where you can have a fresh start. I liked that idea, and here I had the chance to just kind of escape from reality.” Freddy appreciated the freedom to be himself and has come back to his “home away from home” for years since.

Without the people, camp would just be a pretty place.

What makes Falling Creek feel like home? It’s the friends who you may only get to see once a year at camp. It’s the counselors whose impact stays with you years later. It’s the cabinmates who started as strangers but grew into close friends. It’s knowing that everyone here is rooting for your success. It’s the feeling of belonging when surrounded by the camp community at Campfire.

Halfway through this Main Camp session, boys are growing more comfortable and settling into their “camp life” routines. Friendships are deepening, and there are still two weeks to enjoy the camp community that has gathered for this summer.

You may have heard of the old saying, “you can never go home again.” However, every summer the boys and staff who return are proof that you can always go to camp again. Whether it’s been a year, a decade, or longer, the people and this place will always be waiting for you to return “home.”