I didn’t get all A’s in high school. I graduated in the top 20% from a very competitive HS with a 3.0 GPA. Honestly, it was fine. I was a good kid…always where I said I was going to be. I didn’t drink (I still don’t drink). Occasionally I was late getting home, but really except for that, I was a well behaved kid.
When I got to college, I wanted all As. I studied with several friends and we really pushed each other to do well. We were the top students in our program. At that point, my parents didn’t really care what I was doing. I was paying my way, and I didn’t live at home.