You stare down at the address scribbled on a piece of paper and up at the house you parked in front of. You double check the address and the house. You triple check. Once you're sure this is the place, you walk up the stairs and knock on the door.
In a whirlwind of commotion, the owner of the home lets you in, rattles off a series of instructions that you scramble to commit to memory, drops a key in your hand, and leaves.
You're house sitting.
Being asked to watch someone's house while they are away on vacation involves a lot of trust. The owner obviously trusts you to take care of their plants and pets and to not ruin their home.
Now, you've never house sat before so you're nervous. Thankfully, as you wander along the main floor of the house, there is a piece of paper with notes on it. Everything that you forgot to ask about and anything that you could have possibly forgotten is right there for you.
You read the list of instructions again and again until you are familiar with what you can and have to do as well as what you can't do. Now that that's over with, it's time to explore.
You're drawn to the room with the most things to open, the kitchen. You open and close cabinets, drawers, and the fridge. Now that you more or less know where things are in here, you go upstairs.
You find the room that you'll be staying in and drop off your things. You go to the bathroom, acquaint yourself with where the toilet paper is, and how to operate the bathtub since none of those seem to work the same way.
A sound catches your attention. The household pet looks at you curiously. One of the lives that you are responsible for caring for.
You've known the owner for a while now and had your notion about who they are based upon your interactions with them. As you survey the way the house is organized and decorated, you learn a great deal more about them. At first, you're surprised. You expected something completely different and yet, as you look longer and begin to appreciate the decor, you can see how the house reflects their personality.
Not only are you learning more about the owner, but you also get a taste of true independence. You don't have your guardian hovering over your shoulder or have to worry about your privacy but, you also have to make food for yourself and keep things tidy.
From this experience of having true responsibilities that you can't deflect onto anyone else, you learn whether or not you are ready or want to be out on your own.
After everything is all said and done, the owner comes home, thank you for your help, and then you're on your way. Back to your normal life. You've learned a new sense of independence and can now begin planning for your future, when you have a home of your own.