Sandra Oh is getting real about her time on Grey’s Anatomy.

The 53-year-old actress, who played Dr. Cristina Yang on the first 10 seasons of the ABC medical drama, gave details on how she helped shape the arc of her character with her own ideas.

“If something bothered me in a script, I would fight for what I believed what was right for the character of Cristina because I felt responsible for her. And while this contributed to the creation of a memorable character, my desire to make the dialogue fit and my belief that I knew what was best for the character also caused grief for the writers and for me,” she said while delivering her commencement speech to Dartmouth College’s graduating class.

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“I had to have a call with the big boss. I’ll never forget, she said to me, ‘Sandra, we have been here before. You got to trust me. Something will come through if you just say the damn words.’ The discomfort didn’t go away, but my relationship to it began to change,” she added.

She continued, “When I stopped trying to bend things to my will and stayed open to my discomfort, a new thing came through—something that wasn’t just mine or just the writers, but something richer that gave me a deeper understanding of myself as the character, as an actor and as a collaborator. Nothing has taught me more than being with discomfort It can be our greatest learning opportunity, and it is also inevitable.”

“If you can train yourself not to turn away but to learn how to be with your discomfort and trust that it might be telling you something you don’t yet know, it can help you develop an inner strength that will enable you to face the challenges life presents you without losing your values or your sense of self along the way. When the world gets hard, or when it’s good—especially when it’s good like today—by yourself, with people you love, with strangers, always take the time to dance it out,” she concluded.

Last month, Sandra revealed if she watches re-runs of Grey’s Anatomy.