Some know me as Penelope, others know me as Penn, Penner, Penopoly, or even Pencil…but most know me as Penny. Growing up with a name so silly sounding often led to people making jokes. The jokes about my name never affected me in a normal little kid way, it’s not that I cared about them not liking my name, it’s that it SCARED ME. You may be wondering: what was the worst nickname? Pennywise. They called me Pennywise.
For YEARS I could not walk past a red balloon without being terrified so when people started calling ME Pennywise, it did not go well in my brain. It used to freak me out so bad sometimes I would go quiet because I did not want to sound like Pennywise…how does that even make sense (I was quite the character growing up). People always told me to dress up as Pennywise for Halloween—HAH you are so funny if you think baby Penny would go anywhere near a Pennywise costume.
My brother and I would wander around Spirit Halloween trying out all of the animatronics, my brother hiding from a distance, and me up close and personal. I always laughed at my brother for being too scared to go near it. I would go up to every single one, fearlessly, unless…it was that terrifying clown holding a red balloon.
To this day Pennywise freaks me out, and thinking about it gives me chills. How do I share a name with THAT? To my friends who call me Pennywise, or suggest it as a costume…stop while you are ahead because you might traumatize me more.🤡