Deep in a serene slumber, Leia’s eyes abruptly sprung wide open. A crippling anxiety had disrupted her rest, sending her heart racing and leaving her gasping for breath.

She was just two days shy of her fourth birthday and, in many ways, still a kitten. But expectations —perceived or otherwise — weighed heavily on her, and she couldn’t shake that gut-gnawing feeling she was falling short of her life’s goals.

By now, most of her friends were married and spitting out litter after litter of furry, adorable offspring.
How would she even manage one little kitty, let alone an entire brood? Her job, while steady, was
unfulfilling. In college, she had majored in business management and jumped at the first available offer after graduation. Her passion, however, was in the arts.

And retirement? That’s years away, but speeding at her like an out-of-control, super-charged bulldozer. If she retires at twelve, that leaves her only eight years to build her nest egg. Not gonna lie, this 401k thing works better for humans, and even they screw it up more often than not.

Leia closed her eyes and drifted back sleep, opting to forget about her worries rather the dwell on them. But before she slipped under, her eyes shot open once again.

“Wait!” she realized in a sweat. “I turned four last year. I’m about to turn five!!!”

The stakes had just gotten soul-crushingly higher for this anxious Mewlennial.