WHAT IS “UP LEVELING” AND WHY DOES IT FEEL SO LONELY?
This photo popped up on my Facebook feed as a memory from last year. It looked beautiful and bucolic, yet the memory it evoked was not. It was 2020 and COVID was raging in New York City along with riots and protests. It felt like the world was ending. I lived in a suburban area just outside the city. The sun was out and it was a gorgeous day. It felt luxurious after months of living in fear and isolation to just take my lawn chair to the park and read a book in the sun. When I posted the …