What If I Don't Know Anyone At Camp?
New Camper Series
This blog is part of our “First-Time Friday” series for new campers. We’re sharing tips and answers to questions that new families might have, especially if this will be your first summer at camp!
Read The Series
We talk a lot about friendship and brotherhood at Falling Creek, but the truth is that everyone at camp was new once.
Coming to camp without knowing anyone else is perfectly normal - in fact, it might even be better! You’ll be leaving the cliques and friend groups from school behind, free to be yourself and meet new people from all over.
Global Community
At home, all your friends are from the same place. At camp, you’ll meet boys who live all over the U.S., and even different countries. Boys come to camp from the Northeast, the West Coast, from big cities, and from rural towns. Having friends all over the country (and world) is fun, and we often hear of camp friends who meet up in different cities during the non-summer months!
You can look at our social media posts with the tag #CampCommunity to see some examples.
To help ensure that you meet boys from lots of different places, we don’t put more than two campers from the same area in a cabin together.
Built In Friends
Speaking of the cabin, this will be your home at camp! You and seven other boys will live together with one or two of our counselors. The cabin is like having a built-in group at camp, and often becomes close-knit as the session goes on. Even if you don’t know anyone on Opening Day, you’ll have started several new friendships in your cabin before the first day is even over.
Cabin groups also go on fun cabin overnight camping trips each session, which foster deeper bonds and are a great time to hang out around the campfire together.
Get Out There
The cabin overnight isn’t the only outdoor trip opportunity you have - you can also sign up for adventure trips out of camp every weekday, and trips are a great setting for making friends! These are offered during our 2-Week, June, and Main Camp sessions.
Getting out of camp and going on a trip in a small group setting can help you make deeper connections. A full trip usually has 12 campers (including you). These smaller groups can make conversations and connections easier, since you won’t feel like your voice is getting lost in a crowd. You’ll be cooking meals together, enjoying North Carolina’s natural beauty, and encouraging each other on the trail, rock, or water.
Start With Junior Camp
During our 6-day Junior Camp session we may not go on trips out of camp, but there are still many purposeful ways we build community for first-time campers. Most boys at Junior Camp are coming for the first time, without knowing anyone else at Falling Creek. This gives everyone in this session the unique opportunity to expand their comfort zones and get to know other campers in a similar stage of life.
Unlike our other sessions, in Junior Camp you’ll do everything together as a cabin so no one feels left out. We intentionally limit the number of campers in this session so there is a higher staff to camper ratio, meaning you’ll get more individual attention and instruction.
Tips for making connections
Camp is a great environment to make new friends, since the group games, communal living spaces, and activities together are designed to help people connect. Starting a friendship can be as easy as introducing yourself.
Practice sharing something about yourself, pausing to listen, and asking open ended questions. For example, a simple start could be: “Hi, I’m [Name]. It’s my first summer at camp - what about you?”
Ask each other where you’re from, what activities you’re looking forward to, or what hobbies and sports you like. Before you know it, you’ll have made a connection at camp!
If you get overwhelmed, it’s ok to take a break or talk to your counselor. Your counselor knows what it’s like to be at camp for the first time, and they’re here to support you. They can help introduce you to new friends or talk to you about what you’re excited to try at camp.
Hard To Say Goodbye
It can be scary to be in a new setting without your friends from home, but by the end of the summer you’ll not only have gained independence and confidence, but a bunch of new friendships, too.
Check out this video: As these first-time campers said after meeting new friends, by the end of the session, “it’s kinda hard to say goodbye.”
