Ethan Goldstein2005—2026

2021–2026 · rendered at 4K

2021

Age: Age 16Turns 16 in February
Location: Paddock Lane, Cold Spring, Potomac
Era: Junior

In my words

Junior year.

The world that year

Brady's seventh, Tokyo a year late, and the Nationals tear it down.

Tom Brady won a seventh ring in Tampa's own stadium, Giannis scored 50 in the closer, and the Tokyo Olympics finally happened in July with no fans in the seats. Phil Mickelson won a major at 50, Ohtani did both, and the Nationals traded Scherzer and Turner on July 30 to start over. The Show came to Xbox for the first time, and Wordle arrived quietly in October.

Dec – Feb · Turns 16 on February 10

Winter

The birthday month. Snow on the street, warm windows, the year still new.

Now Playing

2021

Most played, of what I added in 2021

pick up the phone (feat. Quavo)

Young Thug & Travis Scott · Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight

270 plays

Race My Mind

Drake · Certified Lover Boy

187 plays

No Photos

Don Toliver · Heaven Or Hell

154 plays

Pipe Down

Drake · Certified Lover Boy

13 plays

lose

Travis Scott · Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight

146 plays

Not You Too (feat. Chris Brown)

Drake · Dark Lane Demo Tapes

144 plays

Two®

Lil Uzi Vert · Luv Is Rage 2 (Deluxe)

142 plays

Love$ick (feat. A$AP Rocky)

Mura Masa · Mura Masa

139 plays

On the charts that year

drivers licenseOlivia Rodrigo
good 4 uOlivia Rodrigo
MONTERO (Call Me by Your Name)Lil Nas X
Industry BabyLil Nas X & Jack Harlow
STAYThe Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber
LevitatingDua Lipa
ButterBTS
Kiss Me MoreDoja Cat ft. SZA
Heat WavesGlass Animals
Easy on MeAdele
All Too Well (10 Minute Version)Taylor Swift

The winter season

cultural context

Buccaneers 31, Chiefs 9Super Bowl LV, February 7. Brady's seventh, in his first Tampa season.
Ovechkin's 730thPassing Marcel Dionne for fifth all-time.

Photographs

from the camera roll

A photo from 2021. Drop files in public/photos/2021/ and run npm run photos.

edit 2021.ts

Video

A short clip from 2021: an mp4 in public/photos/2021/ or an unlisted YouTube link.

edit 2021.ts

Mar – May

Spring

Diamonds drying out, the first catch of the year, the season starting.

Spring ball

cultural context

Baylor's firstApril 5; over undefeated Gonzaga.
Matsuyama's MastersApril 11; the first Japanese man to win a major.

My Interests

this was everything

Baseball
Working at The Baseball Zone

Things People Couldn't Stop Playing

cultural context

MLB The Show 21April 20; the first one on Xbox, and on Game Pass day one.
Fortnite Chapter 2 endsDecember 4; the island flipped over.
Call of Duty: VanguardNovember 5.
Halo InfiniteDecember 8; the multiplayer went free in November.
Forza Horizon 5November 9; Mexico.
NBA 2K22Luka Dončić.
Madden NFL 22Brady and Mahomes together.
FIFA 22October.
It Takes TwoMarch; the co-op game of the year.
Resident Evil VillageMay.
Metroid DreadOctober.
WordleOctober; one word a day, in a text message.
Roblox goes publicMarch 10.
ValheimFebruary.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining PearlNovember.

Jun – Aug

Summer

The pool, the basement, long light, nowhere to be.

On My Screen

Mine

What you watched or played on repeat in 2021.

editcontent/personal/2021.ts

Everyone's

Super Bowl LV on CBSFebruary 7; Buccaneers 31, Chiefs 9, in Tampa.
Tokyo on NBC and PeacockJuly 23 to August 8; Dressel's five golds, Biles' withdrawal, empty stands.
Giannis' 50 on ABCJuly 20; Bucks over Suns, Game 6.
Space Jam: A New LegacyJuly 16; LeBron and the Tune Squad.
King RichardNovember; Will Smith as Venus and Serena's father.
Spider-Man: No Way HomeDecember 17.
Shang-Chi and Eternals
EncantoNovember.
F9 and Godzilla vs. Kong
Free GuyAugust.
Ted Lasso season 2July.
WandaVision, Loki, HawkeyeMarvel on Disney+, weekly.
MrBeast's $456,000 Squid GameNovember 24; the most-viewed video of the year.
Jake Paul vs. Tyron WoodleyAugust; the YouTuber-versus-fighter era.

The summer season

cultural context

Phil at 50PGA Championship, Kiawah, May 23; the oldest major champion.
Lightning repeatJuly 7, over Montreal.
Giannis' 50NBA Finals Game 6, July 20; the Bucks' first title since 1971.
Tokyo, a year lateJuly 23 to August 8; Sunisa Lee's all-around, Katie Ledecky's sixth and seventh golds.
The Nationals sellJuly 30; Scherzer and Turner to the Dodgers, the rebuild begins.

On repeat that summer

from my playlists

Most played

Slide (feat. Frank Ocean & Migos)

Calvin Harris · Funk Wav Bounces, Vol. 1

10 plays

Euphoria (feat. Kaash Paige & Travis Scott)

Don Toliver · Heaven Or Hell

53 plays

Please Don't Go

Mike Posner · 31 Minutes to Takeoff

38 plays

Mrs. Officer (feat. Bobby V & Kidd Kidd)

Lil Wayne · Tha Carter III

32 plays

Sun Is Shining (Remastered 2013)

Bob Marley & The Wailers · Kaya (Remastered 2013)

24 plays

Tech I Remember

In the house

A device or app you used in 2021.

editcontent/personal/2021.ts

Out in the world

Windows 11October 5.
MacBook Pro 14 and 16 (M1 Pro/Max)October; ports came back.
iPhone 13
Colourful M1 iMac and AirTagApril.
Nintendo Switch OLEDOctober 8.
Steam Deck announcedJuly; shipped February 2022.
Perseverance and Ingenuity on MarsFebruary 18.
Billionaires in spaceJuly; Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic.
Chip shortagesConsoles, cars, and GPUs all scarce.

Sep – Nov

Fall

New grade, Halloween, leaves on the lawn, the good hoodie weather.

Memories

1 filed

Wootton baseball
Ryan and Josh were my Wootton teammates.
#baseball #friends

Milestones

1

Started as a manager at The Baseball Zone
2021
Ran the front desk, scheduling and daily finances, and kept the HitTrax systems working. Stayed until 2024.

The fall rotation

from my playlists

Most played

Waves

Kanye West · The Life of Pablo

3 plays

Best I Ever Had

Drake · So Far Gone

132 plays

Dope New Gospel (feat. Nivea)

Lil Wayne · Tha Carter V (Deluxe)

124 plays

Erase Your Social

Lil Uzi Vert · The Perfect LUV Tape

122 plays

Crossfaded

Don Toliver · Life of a DON

120 plays

The fall season

cultural context

Ohtani's two-way MVP46 homers and 156 strikeouts on the mound, unanimous.
Braves over AstrosWorld Series, November 2.

Time Capsule

6 objects

The Show 21 on Xbox
Wordle grid
Mittens
Container ship
M1 chip
Vaccine card

The Internet That Year

cultural context

Facebook becomes MetaOctober 28; "the metaverse".
GameStop and r/wallstreetbetsJanuary.
NFTsBeeple's $69 million sale in March; Bored Apes by April.
WordleReleased in October; the green squares spread in December.
Bernie's mittensJanuary 20.
Ever Given stuck in the Suez CanalMarch 23–29.
"I'm not a cat" Zoom lawyerFebruary 9.
Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp go downOctober 4, for six hours.
Bo Burnham: InsideMay 30; "Welcome to the Internet".
"Cheugy", "sheesh", "bussin"
Devious licks and the milk crate challengeAugust–September on TikTok.

Meanwhile

The world that year

Brady's seventh, Tokyo a year late, and the Nationals tear it down.

The season that year

cultural context

Buccaneers 31, Chiefs 9Super Bowl LV, February 7. Brady's seventh, in his first Tampa season.
Ovechkin's 730thPassing Marcel Dionne for fifth all-time.
Baylor's firstApril 5; over undefeated Gonzaga.
Matsuyama's MastersApril 11; the first Japanese man to win a major.
Phil at 50PGA Championship, Kiawah, May 23; the oldest major champion.
Lightning repeatJuly 7, over Montreal.
Giannis' 50NBA Finals Game 6, July 20; the Bucks' first title since 1971.
Tokyo, a year lateJuly 23 to August 8; Sunisa Lee's all-around, Katie Ledecky's sixth and seventh golds.
The Nationals sellJuly 30; Scherzer and Turner to the Dodgers, the rebuild begins.
Ohtani's two-way MVP46 homers and 156 strikeouts on the mound, unanimous.
Braves over AstrosWorld Series, November 2.

Culture

trends · memes · products

Vaccines and reopening
Tokyo Olympics (held in 2021)
Y2K fashion revivalLow-rise, baggy jeans, butterfly clips.
Crypto and Dogecoin
Red (Taylor's Version)
Pop-Its and fidget toys
"Main character energy"
Hybrid everything

How things looked

Windows 11's rounded corners and Mica glass, iOS 15, and the return of gradients. Y2K nostalgia became a design trend; 'glassmorphism' shipped in real products.