The house key
I was 14 when my parents gave me a key to the house. It felt like a big responsibility, and it felt powerful to be able to come and go as I pleased. In my family it certainly felt like a rite of passage. Soon after - within the space of three years - I had a drivers license, a job and a girlfriend. It all happened so fast. It was the key that did it. It opened up to me more than just the door to the family home.
I was surprised when several people in my hometown said that they never had a similar experience because their families never locked their houses when they were growing up. And in addition, it felt like they were mocking me for living in a family that did. Not to be unkind or judgmental - and with a fulness of genuine brotherly loving kindness - it sounds to me like they and their families are freaking morons!