As my sophomore year of college begins, I am realizing how I want this year to be different from my freshman year. I spent my summer reflecting on the lessons I learned and what worked best for me last year. Going into this year, I feel better prepared.

I started a new job, which is on my campus, and I am super excited about it. During one of our training days, my team captain had us complete a personality test to see which one aligned with us best. I had never taken one before, and I was curious to see what mine would be and how accurately it described me.

We used 16personalities.com as a group, and despite a few things, the personalities we were labeled as were very close to what they truly are. No test is perfect, but this one was good to use, and it's free to take the test. If you hadn't noticed by now, college kids really love free stuff.

Mine personality turned out to be one of the rarest types, and when I read it, things started to click in my head because having a rare personality type would explain why I don't feel like I fit in with other people. I agreed with most of what my personality said about me, especially the part where it said I needed time to recharge after social outings. Being independent and on my own creates an absolute need for "me time."

My personality type is INFJ, "The Advocate". While it is true that I am passionate about what I believe in and have strong opinions, I am not soft-spoken. I am stubborn and strong-willed.

My energy levels can be drained quickly so I withdraw and regroup on my own time. Because of this, I monitor my stress levels before they become unhealthy. I easily understood why I distance myself from others after social events when I read my personality test results.

The test outlined strengths and weaknesses for each type. The strengths for an INFJ personality are:

Creative, insightful, inspiring and convincing, decisive, determined, passionate, and altruistic

On the downside, the INFJ weaknesses are:

Sensitive, extremely private, perfectionist (which is 100% true in my case), always need to have a cause, and can burn out easily

The good thing about knowing all of this, is that I can work to improve in the areas I struggle with and continue to build upon my strengths. I can use all of this as tools to make my sophomore year the best one yet.

I even encouraged my family to take the personality test, not only for them to know about what type they are, but for each of us to understand how one another think. My roommates took the test as well. I am a firm believer in the power of the phrase "stepping into another's shoes," because it allows us to understand and see where others are coming from.

College is all about learning new things, which is not limited to education alone. It's about gaining life experiences, discovering the world, and finding who we truly are. It's a journey to knowing ourselves better and learning about others too.

I've learned how strong I can be in the darkest of times, and as I continue to discover more about myself, I only grow stronger and more confident in who I am. So sophomore year, I want you to bring it on. I'm ready to hit back with whatever you bring to the plate and finish the year with a solid home run.