Penn is the perfect example of the old saying, don’t judge a book by its cover. For his whole life, people have thought all kinds of inaccurate things about him simply because of his size. When he was in first grade, he experienced a huge growth spurt that put him at the front of his class in terms of height. And while height is certainly seen as a gift in adulthood, it can create a sense of distance that is hard to overcome. Suddenly, you are the giant, the tall one, the freak, all because of something you have no control over. This was Penn’s experience, and it was one that followed him up through his teens. While his height did become an asset of sorts when he hit college, he was still judged for his physical appearance. Something about being a large presence intimidated people, and no matter how he tried to make himself smaller, he simply couldn’t. People thought he was mean or tough or angry, just because they felt slightly threatened by such a large guy.