When we signed our names and sent our acceptance letters back to the UW one, two, three, four or even five years ago, we knew that we had just taken a major turn on the road of life.

The experiences we would have, the contacts we would make and the opportunities that would be available to us through this university would be extraordinarily different from any of the alternate choices. Because of that, our futures and we, as people, would be vastly different from anything else that could have been.

One thing college advisers did not warn us about, and something that we could not prepare for even with careful consideration, was that signing our acceptance letters also meant putting our name in the friendship lotto. After applying for dorm housing, rushing fraternities or sororities and registering for a freshman interest group, the fates went to work to somehow devise a series of utterly random events that would lead you to a group of people that would have a more profound impact on you than any degree ever could.

Due to either my lack of effort or a series of personality clashes, or perhaps a combination of the two, I never really had many great friends in high school. So, I never really put much credit in the significant role they could play in my life. Sure, I saw the ideal bonds on such television shows as Friends and Entourage, but I figured they were another example of Hollywood’s over-romanticism, or maybe just meant for people luckier than myself.

But as luck would have it, when I rolled the friend dice in college, I won a jackpot beyond anything I had ever known and certainly could have ever hoped for.

For the last 2 1/2 years, I have had my personality altered, my beliefs shifted and my world expanded thanks to some truly incredible individuals. I’ve learned more about life, the world and myself through the adventures and the late-night philosophical discussions we’ve had than anything imparted through a class lecture.

Admittedly, this is something I flat out did not expect.

Just when I thought I had experienced the extent and depth of the influential power that friendship can wield, it surprised me yet again.

The stress of upper-level class loads, scrambling to find a summer internship amid a tough job market, plus just preparing to grow up and face the intimidating real world forced me to embrace the current popular mentality of focusing on the needs and abandoning the wants. One of the perceived wants that I neglected was these friendships. Due to my history of surviving, though not thriving in an existence light on friend involvement, I figured they were great luxuries, but by no means necessities.

The other day, several of them sat me down to ask if something was wrong. They expressed their worry that they had done something to make me mad at them. They had felt the strain in our relationship and were concerned for the well-being of myself and our friendship. More importantly, they just wanted to assure me that they were always there for me and wanted to do everything they could to help me out and ensure that our friendship would stay the same — that our relationship meant a lot to them.

I don’t think I’ve ever been more emotionally touched in my entire life. I felt like George Bailey at the end of It’s a Wonderful Life. Not only had they been concerned for me, but they expressed how important it was to them that we continued to have a strong connection. I had been so consumed with how much I was getting out of our relationship that it never even occurred to me that they might be getting something from me as well.

Once again, the power of friendship has surprised and overwhelmed me with its significance. Friendship is not an expendable comfort to be casually tossed away, but a vital rock to lean on when the weight of the world feels like too much. I realize that for all of you extroverts, this knowledge came standard with birth, but for us introverts, it is an important direction on the road to happiness that was not readily provided.

So for all of you out there who know a friend or are a friend who has been drifting, I encourage you to go out of your way today to reach out to them. Have a talk and give them a hug. This effort could mean more to them than they could ever fully express.

In the immortal words of Clarence, the angel, in It’s a Wonderful Life, “Remember, no man is a failure who has friends.”

Reach columnist Jeff Dickson at opinion@dailyuw.com.