25 April 2007

And I thought *I* was cool in high school


Some girls physically mature later than others. Some don't "grow into themselves," as they say, until they're well past high school. These are the girls who dry their eyes and blow their noses when their Jake-picks-Samantha wistfulness ends up more like dance after dance of Steff-treating-Andie-like-shit. These are the girls whose parents offer "helpful" words of comfort like, "Oh honey, he just doesn't see what's on the inside," "maybe you should try for that other boy - the one from band class who seems to really like you," and "those popular girls aren't going to be so popular in the 'real world,' you'll see."

Judging by these recently-released photos of Sienna Miller taken when she was just shy of her 16th birthday, I'd wager she was not one of these girls. No, from what I can tell, this was the kind of lass who had nary a problem accepting her looks, snagging a boyfriend and digging deep to find the confidence to...well, to do anything.

What's disconcerting about these photos is that had I not read their accompanying text I would have assumed this was a recently-shot set. Not only does she at 16 look strikingly like she does at 25, but as I noted a few days ago with Angelina, at the age when so many girls are grappling to just get through the day-to-day of teenagerhood, Sienna is already in a place where she exudes a womanly confidence, an extreme self-comfort, and yes, even hints of an undiscovered - or, judging from the last two photos, maybe not so undiscovered - sexuality, all of which jump off the page and have you wondering who the hell this saucy little blonde is and what the hell's on her mind.

Sure, most of these outfits and poses are much too suggestive for a junior in high school, but that aside, focusing solely on the natural impetuousness that comes through, for me, the strongest in the eyes-closed belly-laugh picture and the very Edie-Sedgwick-esque "whot-yoo-lookin'-at?" tilt-of-the-head and drag-of-the-fag picture. You look at Sienna in these photos and you just know. You know, even if she didn't at the time, that something fabulous and fun and uniquely her would be coming down the pike very soon.

And for all those poor homecoming queens, student body presidents and the ultra-piteous student body presidents who also happened to be homecoming queens, Sienna proves early-developed beauty and popularity doesn't have to be a knocked-up, dropped-out, trailer-park life sentence, after all.

More pictures of Sienna looking a whole lot better than we did at 16 below:

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a naturally pretty girl!

How many times did your parents have to tell you, "he just doesn't see what's on the inside?"

Oh wait, never.

Anonymous said...

That one of her with her hand by her mouth and a ciggie in the other is stunning. She looks waaaaaay older than 16. She also looks like she would have been a whole lot of fun!

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry, but I couldn't hold in my giggles when I read your description of the insecure and troubled teenage years.

You're about the least qualified person I can think of to discuss that topic with authority.

Anonymous said...

I concur with BFF. Don't speak for our kind...

Anonymous said...

Who's the creep who took these photos? It looks like he (I'm assuming it's a "he") lured her to his basement and said, "here, put these on" and handed her a bunch of plastic tops.

But she is a striking beauty. There's no doubt about that.