What he describes to me is competition for the sake of competition, and not having any goals.

I'm also 22 like the author, and I realized a long time ago that I had no interest in competing in things I didn't care about.

I was in the top class at my secondary school (High school for you Americans) and easily got above average marks while doing work 1yr ahead with not much effort. I really didn't see the point in grinding for top marks when they were meaningless, but I put in a little effort because I felt like it's what I should be doing.

At uni, I managed to scrape by for a couple of years doing little work and getting C- to B- marks mostly. Again, doing it because it's what I thought I should be doing and I felt obligated to go to university and get an engineering degree since that's what smart people are supposed to do.

I dropped out when I realized that I had been following the path I was "supposed" to take rather than what I wanted to do.

It sounds like OP finally chose a path instead of just following the one that was laid out for him.

Note: I don't live in the US

I think anyone under 30 today who studies or has studied feels immense competition and pressure.

I started undergrad in 2011 and already getting in then you needed very good grades. Reading about the acceptance rates into my program and the grades now required, I feel really sad for current students, and I was already very unhappy during my undergrad...

I went to university in the US last century, and don't recall an atmosphere of constant competition at all. At least at that time, townies seemed more competitive than gownies. My memories are mostly of us helping each other to drink from the firehose (of both the course load and of life).