However, summers are not all work. Students spend time with friends, go to a movie or take a trip. David Spiegel is from Fort Worth, Texas. He will be a senior at American University in the fall. He wanted to make the most of his summer vacation.

DAVID SPIEGEL:“My friends and I have made a list of things we want to do over the summer. Different places to travel, to get away to, maybe a beach a few hours away. I’m trying to travel as much as possible and discover the city I’ve been living in for three years.”

More than anything else, summer is a much needed break. College can be stressful. Sometimes doing nothing at all is just what a student needs after studying for final exams. A relaxing day under the summer sun will help students forget all about tests and studying.

Paul McCartney

(MUSIC: “WHEN I’M SIXTY-FOUR”)

DOUG JOHNSON: Paul McCartney got his start in music before his teens. He learned to play piano and trumpet as a child. The guitar followed a short time later. He wrote one of the Beatles’ most famous songs, “When I’m Sixty-Four,” before he had even met any of the other band members.

Sixty years later, President Obama awarded the British musician the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for American Song. Faith Lapidus tells about the event and plays some of Paul McCartney’s songs.

FAITH LAPIDUS: The event was held at the White House earlier this month. President Obama praised Paul McCartney for what he called his extraordinary contributions to American music and culture. He joked: “that’s right, we stole you, Paul.” The president called Paul McCartney the most successful songwriter in history. As a member of the Beatles, he wrote hundreds of songs that changed popular music forever.