Hell is other people,” Dr. John Cordell, US Physics detailed to his phone – held out by a gray selfie stick – as he lay on the dirt of his yard with his goat, Gary, from whom he transcribed the message. The video was uploaded to his infamous instagram page, @johnacordell. In a matter of months (six, to be precise) the account has accumulated just over 400 followers, garnering the support of the student body, faculty and staff, FWCD alumni, Fort Worth locals, and user “@marcusgotthabag,” who is offering to bless the lives of the first seven people to “hit [him] up with ‘BLESSED’” under Cordell’s September 29 post of baking fries on a Friday night.
On his account, Cordell uploads photos of his children (often out of focus), bread, Gary, the solar car, the local homeless population, his rollerblading to school, and Venus, the planet – “She’s so sexy and fast!” he wrote in his June 1 post’s caption.
His fame first began, though, with his call to action to serve America: his call to (and later, dismissal from) jury duty. In the post, he asks himself, “What’s for breakfast?” and, before any followers have the chance to philosophize about the most important meal of the day, Cordell gives his answer: “Justice.” After deeming himself Country Day’s own Riddler, however, it was questioned whether or not Cordell’s account could continue posting for long. Because the majority of his following consists of students, the teacher’s social media policy may be under review to decide whether or not Cordell should be able to continue to interact with student accounts, even though nothing bad has happened.
Cordell just hoped that he wouldn’t be silenced; if he were to be though, he would accept his fate. The only thing he truly dislikes is mowing his lawn; sometimes, he “[wishes he] could be homeless, [he likes] camping.” He would not like to live on a commune, or convert to Mormonism, however, though they may be possible solutions to his problem.
“I just post to make people happy,” Cordell said.
And he did. He blessed his followers nearly daily. Until it went dark. Late October, Cordell deactivated his instagram account. His classes were devastated. His colleagues were devastated. There was even an intruder on campus (assumingly, because he missed the Instagram posts so much).
Cordell revealed to his classes that he had just lost a sense of purpose; he no longer knew what his art had become. His wife had asked him what he planned to continue uploading (as she deemed the account random), and he had been sent into a spiral. “I just need to figure out what I want to do before it permanently deletes,” Cordell said to his B period Honors Physics class.
The time was ticking. Cordell had 30 days to think. The science building hall’s were full of outcry; all students wanted was their Kylie Jenner equivalent back.
“Every time I walked into physics class, I was reminded of my heartbreak and loss,” Chloe Barker ’25, whose favorite post was when Cordell found a small cave, said.
“I was super sad to see him gone,” Rising Huckaby ’24 said. “My daily dose of happiness [was taken] away.” Huckaby’s favorite post was Cordell’s talking to his dog.
“I was so upset, I had to confront him in person,” Rhea Alexander ‘24 said. “I-I-I… I couldn’t understand how he could do this to all his fanatical fans, of which I am one.” Alexander’s favorite post of Cordell’s is the rollerskating race one.
On November 12, 2023, the king was back. With a two-carousel post featuring an unknown spider species, he noted: “Spiders at Camp Murrin. Photos by Teddy. Does anyone know what kind of spiders?”
In the next week, nineteen more posts were made, four of which are part of a new series, where he explores new tie knots: a half-windsor, four-in-hand, merovingian, eldredge and a Linwood Taurus. He’s also just begun another series, teaching practical knots. And, he continues to try to make his audience happy.
“It was like Christmas morning. Like, when you get in your car, and it plays just the right song. It was the best news I’d received all year,” Alexander said, upon his return.
“I would urge anyone who is on any of the social medias to try and use it for something positive, to put positive messages out into the world,” Cordell said. “Never use it to bully people.”
