Celebrity vlogger Donnalyn Bartolome defended herself after she drew flak for her post last January 3 about working during the first day of the year. In her latest post on Facebook, she explained why she felt like sharing with her followers about being positive when it comes to working.

She named her past experiences and the reasons she also struggled to be where she is right now.

READ: Donnalyn Bartolome, binatikos dahil sa pahayag tungkol sa mga nalulungkot sa pagbabalik-trabaho

“I’m posting to let you know that yung positivity na yun hindi nanggaling sa privilege, matter of fact, it came from experience.. hindi lang talaga ako pala-share ng hirap kasi lagi kong iniisip na baka lalo akong makabigat sa buhay niyo. Mali pala yun.. okay din pala na minsan malaman ng mga tao yung hirap mo at hindi lang yung success mo,” she shared.

Donnalyn maintained that she wouldn’t have reached her level of success right now if it weren’t for the difficult experiences she had in the past. The vlogger added that she didn’t want to dwell on the past which is why she doesn’t post much about her hardship but instead focuses on the positive side.

“Nakakabaffle nga naman yung mga taong sobrang positive kasi parang wala silang dinadala, pero I realized matinding defense mechanism na pala nabuild ko.. Ang piliing maging masaya,” she added.

The 28-year-old vlogger also noted how she could relate to the problems of netizens who would have to wake up early just to commute. She shared that she has lived through difficulties so she is justified in saying such things.

“Naranasan kong wala ng trabaho kaya siguro sobra ko pahalagahan.. naranasan ko magcommute sa Bus, MRT, Jeep, FX, Tricycle.. yung pila, siksikan, init.. alam ko talaga,” she recalled.

READ: Donnalyn Bartolome pens heartfelt message for brother: ‘Thank you for fighting, I love you so much’

Donnalyn shared that it was her grandfather who taught her to always look at the bright side. She revealed to her followers that he was a janitor who didn’t complain about a single thing in his life while he was working.

“Nakapagpatapos siya ng tatlong anak, wala talagang negative na Lumabas sa bibig niya tungkol sa trabaho niya, proud pa siya dala dala niya pa apo niya sa pagJajanitor.  Inaaliw niya ako sa pagpagpailaw niya ng bulb gamit pinagdikit niyang wire at isang pirasong battery. Kala ko talaga magikero lolo ko noon. Ang galing lang pala niya magdala, positivity lang talaga tinuro niya sa akin,” she said.

Netizens shared their mixed reactions on the comment section of the vlogger’s post.

“Even if you did experience the same thing as other people, that doesn't magically justify the invalidation. Hindi naman kase universal ang ating experiences eh,” a netizen named John Alvin shared.

“Damage has been done. Pero ok lang yan ti Donna. You acknowledge naman na. We know your intentions naman and somehow di natin nakikita yung ibang perspective,” Facebook user Migz Lioa commented.

The celebrity vlogger maintained her position but apologized for those that were offended by her post.