Remember the adage that “you can’t choose your family, but you can choose your friends?” To many of us, our friends are our family.

To recognize how important these people are in our lives, we’re asking readers to submit an essay for possible publication talking about how important their friends are to them.

Is it the way they stick with you through thick and thin? Is your best friend the same person it was in first grade? What efforts do you make to ensure that you stay friends? Is there a regular “girls’ weekend?” Do you go camping with your best buddies each summer?

Send your essays (around 300 words) and an accompanying photo if you like, to nluse@newspost.com with “friends” in the subject line, or mail to Nancy Luse, 351 Ballenger Center Drive, Frederick, Md., 21702.

Deadline is July 24.