Katie Holmes has come a long from her days as Joey Potter on Dawson’s Creek. There have been plenty of ups and downs over the years as Holmes creates a career in Hollywood while being a single mother. Her commitment to her daughter, Suri, has always been her number one priority which was one of the reasons why she left ex-husband Tom Cruise.

You can tell just by the way she lives her lifestyle that her daughter is number 1. The child has always been kept out of the spotlight as much as possible and after the divorce, Holmes moved her daughter back to New York City where the paparazzi aren’t as fierce as they are in Los Angeles. There she teaches her daughter about living a normal life and that includes eating cupcakes at their favorite bakery and taking the subway.

There are no nannies, limousines or private planes for Suri. Holmes is trying to raise her in the best way possible and we have to say, she’s doing a great job. Over the years we have heard her talk about her role as a mother and what it means to her.

Check out these 20 quotes on motherhood by Katie Holmes.

20 Even Katie Holmes Gets Mom Guilt

It can be hard not to compare ourselves to other mothers, especially when we are scrolling through Instagram. We see these picture-perfect existences and we wonder if we are all falling short as mothers. Believe it or not, there are celebrities like Katie Holmes that feel your pain. “Remember the days when the only time anyone took out a camera was on birthdays, holidays and vacations? Like, that one has taken her child to Morocco. Why haven’t I taken my child to Morocco?” she said.

“Being a parent, every choice I make is with my child in mind.”

19 Being A Mom Is The Most Important Job

We’re sure that all mothers in the world could agree to this one. When you start to have children, everything changes, and that child has to become the priority. “Becoming a mother has been the most amazing experience - in an instant you become strong. You have to be a little bit wiser; it's the most important job in the world."

It can be hard for a single mother to say this when she also has to go to work but she is blessed with the kind of career that allows Suri to go with her.

18 She Wants to Raise A Strong Woman

In society today, it’s more important than ever to be raising our daughter’s to be strong women. Katie gets that in more ways than one. Holmes said on The Jenna Bush Hager Show. “And I know that it hurt my child so much as a 10-year-old, and it really made me think, ‘Oh, we have a lot … a long way to go as women.’

'We have to raise our girls to be very strong, not just for themselves, but to open the doors for other people.”

17 On What It Was Like To Become A Mother

If you have never had children before, it’s just one of those things that you can only imagine. But after birth, you know that you have been thrown into a whole new world. “I felt so proud to be having a baby and so excited. And I felt closer to other women - to my sisters, to my mom. I felt empowered, like, 'I've given birth. I did it! There's nothing I can't handle.' I've really enjoyed this time that I have taken to be with Suri, as well as the challenges of the first couple of months.”

16 She Wants Suri to Have An Innocent Childhood

That can be hard when you are a celebrity and the paparazzi are trying to take your pictures wherever you go. But that’s why she is trying to normalize her child’s life in New York City. “My child is the most important person to me and her upbringing is paramount to my work right now. It’s very important that I’m present and she has a stable, innocent childhood,” she told Town & Country magazine.

“I feel so blessed to do what I do, but there’s nothing in the world better than watching your child succeed.”

15 She Raised Her Daughter to Be Generous

As parents, that’s something that we would all like to instill into our children. The idea to look out for others and not just think of ourselves. It appears even though Suri lives a privileged life that she also wants to give to others in need. “My little one is very, very genius and very sensitive,” Holmes explained on the Today Show. “So, she’s always [saying], ‘Mom, let’s give my old toys to people who need it.’ So we are always doing that.” That’s a great way to spread the joy around to others.

14 She Always Shows Suri How Much She Means to Her

When you have a busy life of juggling parenting and being a working mom, it can be a struggle to just sit down and take a breath. It’s important to also let your children know that you do it all for them. "Suri is my daughter, she's very, very special to me, and this project took a lot of time and because it's my first feature I wanted her to know that she's so special to me.

I thought that as she gets old that will mean more to her, that she's always the most important, and I wanted to give her a special thanks because she means everything to me."

13 The Joys of Spending the Holidays Together

When you are a mom and you take your child to see Santa, you know how important it is to make sure you know what your child wants for Christmas. Katie Holmes explains the hilarious process in the best way. “We are getting ready for Christmas in my house. My daughter’s 8 years old and she already has her Christmas list ready,” she said on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. “It’s written out. She’s very organized. I start to, like, get a little bit [stressed] because you cannot [mess] up talking to Santa. You cannot miss any item on that list, because if you [mess] that up, that’s years and years of hearing about it and then probably therapy.”

12 She Wants Her to Feel Loved

That’s the wish that all mothers want for their children and it’s pretty obvious that Katie Holmes does a great job of that. She has always put Suri in the forefront of her life. “I think the basics are important: the number one thing is making sure my child feels loved,” Holmes told Elle UK in March 2014 of raising Suri to be confident and happy.

“[I want her to feel] good about herself. And then what she does and who she is, is special and important and should be celebrated. And my mom always said, ‘No one loves you like your mother.’”

11 Every Day Is A Learning Experience

For any mother, especially first-time moms, you learn pretty quickly that there is a lot to learn. Even after you have been mothering for a few years, you discover that you don’t know everything. That’s part of why we need to be easier on ourselves because it’s okay to make mistakes, we are all still learning. Katie Holmes definitely gets that aspect of motherhood. “I'm learning every day, and I have been since the minute I became a mom.” We can pretty much all relate to those words.

10 She Goes to Great Lengths To Be A Good Mom

We all have our different descriptions of what makes us “great moms” whether that is what we feed our children or how we spend time with them. When Holmes left Cruise, she was determined to give her daughter a light-hearted environment to grow up in. “I spray-paint shoe racks, because, why not? I think, ‘Oh, I’m a great mom’ and then it doesn’t really pan out the way I think it’s going to,” she told Women’s Wear Daily. “But the intention’s there. I’ve always done crafts at home — I have to stay creative in every aspect [of my life].”

9 She Doesn’t Believe in Spoiling Her Child

Despite the fact that she used to be married to a mega-star like Tom Cruise, she has no interest in living a huge Hollywood life. She also doesn’t want her child to be entitled. That explains why you will see the two of them hailing cabs or taking the subway. She could easily hire a driver but that’s just not the life that she wants. She feels the same way when it comes to gifts for her child.

“I don't over-gift. I don't inundate my child with a lot of things.”

That might be why Suri grew up to be such a generous child.

8 Juggling Becomes A Way of Life

As mothers, we all know that it’s all about keeping the balls in the air. It becomes a juggling act and as women, we know what it means to juggle school schedules, go to work, do laundry and make healthy dinners. Holmes knows exactly what that is like. “Some people say, ‘It must be so hard to act and direct at the same time.’ But it’s not as challenging as it looks, because you’re in charge of it,” Holmes explained.

“And when you’re a mom — we’re used to doing 25 things at once.”

7 She Learned A Lot From Her Own Mother

If we are blessed enough to have great mothers of our own, then that’s going to help us along the way to be great mothers too. Holmes has always had a great support system from her family, and she’s learning a lot about being a mom. “I feel really lucky, because my mom is so creative, and she’s such an artist,” Holmes tells the mag. “I mean, she makes all of the curtains, she makes all the pillows. She made me a homemade sweater. She knows how to do everything. And it’s all, like, just wrapped in love. Growing up I kind of took it for granted, but as I’ve gotten older I see the poetry in that.”

6 She Is Loving Every Stage Her Daughters In

Some stages of parenthood are more fun than others. Some mother's experience that stage in a toddler's life where things can get troublesome, and other mother's do not.  There are always stages that some parents love more than others, but it also depends on the personality of the child. For Holmes, she is loving every stage. “I've never met a 2-year-old who is [unpleasant]. I'm so cool with every stage my daughter goes through. I just think she's amazing. I hope she's not looking at me thinking, 'Mom, are the [...]30s coming on with you?'”

5 She Tries To Set An Example

These days, we are learning more about how it is important to love ourselves in order to be good parents. It’s no longer popular for parents to grind ourselves for our children. We are learning that we need to take care of ourselves in order to be effective parents. Holmes is trying to set the best example possible for her daughter.

“Being a parent, every choice I make it with my child in mind,” she says.

“So part of getting in shape is to be an example.” It’s something that we all need to be aware of.

4 She Admits There Are Good Days and Bad Days

Not every day is going to be a perfect parenting moment and it’s cool to admit you’ve had a bad day. “I try to make our world very much an environment that’s just all about being a kid without too much of Hollywood coming into that. And I just enjoy it. Honestly, I think that there are so many books and opinions about how to be a great mom, and you have good days and bad days, and sometimes you do great and sometimes you could have done better. But I have to say I’m really enjoying having a 10-year-old. She’s a remarkable person.”

3 Her Daughter Helps Her With Fashion

We have seen Suri growing up over the years and considering how she was wearing high heels at a young age, she seems in tune to fashion choices. You are more likely to see her in a dress than in jeans and Holmes says she enjoys fashion. “She'll really tell me [what she thinks]. Like today I'm wearing brown suede pants, and she said, 'I don't like your pants.' But then she'll say, `You've got to wear these shoes.' Or 'That's so pretty, Mom. Wear that.' She's got a great eye.”

2 No One Loves You Like Your Mother

Isn’t that the truth. Motherhood can be hard but at the end of the day, no matter what happens, our kids know that we love them and we are doing our best for them. Holmes understands that on many different levels. “I think the basics are very important: the number one thing is making sure my child feels loved. And good about herself. And that what she does and who she is, is special and important, and should be celebrated.’ ‘And my mum always said, ‘No one loves you like your mother.’”

1 Her Daughter Is Her Inspiration

As mothers, we want to pass down to our children the ability to dream. We want them to have big visions for the future and to know that anything is possible. At the end of the movie All We Had, Holmes thanked her daughter by saying, “to my daughter, Suri. Dreams come true.” She considers her daughter to be her inspiration for the work that she does,

“It was my first film, and I want her to always know that she’s the inspiration behind everything, and so hopefully it means something as she gets older. Just to let her know how important she is.”

References: ET Canada , US Magazine, Daily Mail