Does one really need friends?

I’m just curious.

See, my problem is that I feel sad sometimes when I’m at college. The other thing is (although not necessarily a problem) I don’t have ANY friends at college. Really, I don’t. My mother and my therapist say that the problem is that I don’t have any friends and I need to get some ASAP. I’ve already tried to get friends at college before (due to the urging of my therapist) and it’s just not fun. The clubs are boring and I don’t fit in. I’ve given up.

However, my father and I say that the problem is that I’m unhappy, and I need to find ways to be happy…and that may include finding friends, but it may also not. I believe I can be happy without them, but I need to learn how on my own.

I wanted to know what you guys think.
Does one really need friends to be happy?
Or can you really be happy without them?
What should I do?