The Kindness of Strangers

"[Nicholas] had been happy before, at least briefly so, on several occasions, and what he was feeling now was rather like that, only deeper and stranger. It was happiness amplified by hope--not just for himself, but for people in general--and anchored by something else, something he had yet to put his finger on. 

"[...] There were adults in the world who would actually make sacrifices for the sake of others--not just for their own families but for anyone who needed help. Nicholas had always had the impression that families looked after one another, and he had come to understand that, on rare occasions, children would do the same. [...] But this was different. What Mr. Harinton was doing certainly helped Nicholas--but it also simply felt right to Nicholas. It made him want to be exactly like Mr. Harinton himself.

"No sooner had he thought this than he realized what was anchoring his happiness. It was purpose. He knew what he wanted to do. He knew the way he thought things should be, and Mr. Harinton was proving that other people--even adults--could feel the same way. Nicholas had something to aim for now. He might not know what he wanted to be when he grew up, but he knew with absolute certainty how he wanted to be."

--Trenton Lee Stewart, The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict, pp. 399-400