I'm not sure if the so-called "maturation process" occurs all at once, or little by little. Although I have most definitely not matured yet, I think that I have taken a major step towards maturation. It is a known fact that it is literally impossible to mature in the presence of your parents, because they are so easy to depend on. How can you learn to take care of yourself when there are so many people looking out for you? The first time I was away from my family for a fairly long amount of time was when I went to Florida to visit my cousins. Two weeks isn't nearly enough time to mature, and plus, I was only thirteen so I wasn't ready to mature yet. But I got another chance...
This past summer, I traveled alone to France. It was by far the best experience I have ever had. I stayed with two different families, each friends of my parents. The total amount of time I spent in France was about five weeks - definitely enough time to mature. Even though there were plenty of people looking out for me, they were not my parents, so I was able to take my first step towards maturing.
For some strange and unknown reason, it is so much more fun to help out around the house at someone else's residence rather that yours. From a young age, my mother had always tried to get me to do some chores around the house, but I had always refused. And in Florida, my cousins had a housekeeper so there was no need for me to help out there. But in the French countryside, there is a lot of work to do, so everyone helps out. I learned to hang laundry on the clothesline (there was no clothes-dryer), iron, wash dishes, and cook. Not only are these skills that everyone will need in life, but they also help a person to learn to take care of themselves. Maybe it was so easy to do those chores because I was so grateful that these people were letting me stay at their house. Or maybe it was because everyone was doing all of the work together. Either way, it is now a zillion times easier to help out at home. That's something pretty important, when you're aiming towards maturing.