jwoiton

Back in the day, I went to a college that had a big Jazz program in their music department, Univ. North Texas.
I lived in what was called the 'Musicians Dorm' because of its proximity to the music building. There were student jazz bands playing in the lobby almost every week day evening. It was mostly attended by other jazz students who were silently critiquing them. I was an art major not a music major and mostly self taught at music. I played in punk/new wave bands that were the rage among art students at that time. We played mostly simple self written tunes and had some local popularity. We gigged around town once or twice a month with a rare gig in nearby Dallas or Fort Worth. Musical virtuosity was never a goal of mine I just wanted to have fun playing. But in my dorm I would walk around the halls in the afternoon and hear the students practicing in their rooms. I could hear some cool stuff coming from some of the rooms. I would talk with people later and ask if they were in a band. More than once I got a reply that they weren't good enough to play in a band yet. They weren't ready for the criticism of their peers. I was so happy that I didn't have to face that.
Just play the way that's comfortable for you and over time, that will be your style. After college, I had to go out and get a job which put a crimp in my band playing. I have still returned from time to time and played in bands again. This is what I like to do for fun. I don't care about making money from playing (it is nice when it happens) but I just want to keep having fun. This is my advice to any young players reading this.