I've just discovered what I believe is a good analogy to properly represent my opinion of my voice and how I feel about it.
I liken my voice and Fleet Street to my intelligence and Stanford, respectively. When I got into Stanford, I felt really good about myself. Everyone regarded me as a pretty smart guy. But once I got here, I realized that everyone is way smart and, at best, I am mediocre in comparison. When I talked to my friends about how I would sometimes have a hard time in class, they said things like, "I'm sure you're fine, et cetera, et cetera." But I know differently.
The same can be said with Fleet Street. I don't mean to be one of those people who complains about how bad they are when they're pretty good in the grand scheme of things, but this is how I really feel. I used to think my voice was pretty good. Now I think my voice is above average, but nothing spectacular. When I try to talk about this with other people, they always treat me like my friends back home treated me. You're great! But I know differently. I'm good, not great. And there is a big difference. It's something that I've come to realize in the past two years.
In some ways, this ties into the whole creating vs. experiencing thing. And I'm not complaining. Speaking of complaining, I'm tired. Back to work!