Elena Dimova was born in Sofia, Bulgaria and has lived there her entire life. She speaks Bulgarian and English, and is currently learning Spanish and German. She spent her first seven years of education in a public Bulgarian school and then moved to an international school, the Anglo-American School of Sofia. Having experienced both the traditional Bulgarian system and the international one, she found out that students in both places have a similar perception about grades. Instead of teaching her how much grades matter, high school only made her realise how much they don't. Observing her classmates, she came to a realisation that many of them fail to understand what the true purpose of high school is and, more importantly, the whole conception of grades. "The High School Marathon" - Elena Dimova was born in Sofia, Bulgaria and has lived there her entire life. She speaks Bulgarian and English, and is currently learning Spanish and German. She spent her first seven years of education in a public Bulgarian school and then moved to an international school, the Anglo-American School of Sofia. Having experienced both the traditional Bulgarian system and the international one, she found out that students in both places have a similar perception about grades. Instead of teaching her how much grades matter, high school only made her realise how much they don't. Observing her classmates, she came to a realisation that many of them fail to understand what the true purpose of high school is and, more importantly, the whole conception of grades. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx