Hometown Clinton - Winter 2017

HAPPY FIT
By Leah Mitchener
Think of the most inspirational
person you know. What is it about
them that puts you in such a state
of awe? Is it their dedication? Their
perseverance? Their spirit and zest
for life? Anyone who has spent 5
seconds talking to Natalia Trotter
would agree that she is a constant
inspiration to those around her for
all of these reasons. She is a light in
a dark room.
Born in Kursk, Russia, Natalia
soon moved to Ukraine with her
family where she attended college
and met an American named
Wilson Trotter; a man who knew
he would marry her after having
one of her home-cooked meals.
It was “providence” according to
Natalia. They were married after
just four short months.
After spending a year living
with Natalia’s parents, the couple
moved to America in June of 1999.
Wilson’s family owns hundreds of
acres in Mississippi where he grew
up, so they built a house on the
land and called it home. Though
she had taken a few English classes
in college, she had absolutely
zero English-speaking skills and
struggled to do things most of us
take for granted like answering
the phone or seeing who had come
knocking at the door.
But she was determined. For
three whole months, she did
nothing but listen to television and
radio stations to gain confidence in
her English-speaking abilities. “The
first English book I read was The
Magic of Thinking Big by Napoleon
Hill. I took down and studied 40
unknown words just from the first
page,” she said. She even found
a little help from God himself
by attending choir practices at
church. She wanted to “hear, see,
and pronounce words”, and had
the added bonus of really enjoying
singing and worshipping.
After the birth of her second
child, Natalia found herself sinking
into a deep depression. Wilson
was gone to Chicago on business
during the week, and her new
little baby was having some
health issues. Her feeling of
helplessness continued for
seven months. Mentally
and physically worn
out from the strain
of holding the
household together
and caring for her
ailing son, she knew she
had to do something to
better her life. “I just knew
the person I had turned into
was not the person I used to be,”
she said. “I was looking for ways to
better my life. I wanted to become
“I BECAME INFATUATED WITH THE
daring”
IDEA OF DOING SOMETHING
Hometown Clinton • 25