Is medical school a competitive environment?

I've read in more than one place that I shouldn't think of my classmates in medical school as enemies or competitors, but as friends and partners who go through times of hardships together.

BULL SHIT...kind of.

I'm sure I'll make friends in medical school. I have no doubt that some of them will be friends that I keep in contact with for the rest of my life. I wouldn't put myself beyond finding my future wife in medical school. Still, these things don't change the fact that when time comes to apply for the next step - residency - I'll be competing against all of my classmates and everyone else who went to medical school and graduated the year that I did. This means that I need to score better, participate in more extra-curriculars, and obtain more research experience than my compatriots.

Moreover, I feel that many people are driven by competition. I myself have the desire to be better than others and this drives me to go the extra mile compared to my peers. I could be wrong about this and I could be the only one who feels this way, but past experiences tell me that it's not. I don't mean to say that I think or know I am better than others, but I aspire to be.

Technically, medical school itself is not a competition, but there will be a competition - for the best residencies - that considers medical school performance as one of the main criteria to be considered.

If people have given this more thought than I have, and know better or more than I do, I welcome their insights. I know that as an individual, my views can be quite limited.