A/N: This went in a completely different direction than I expected... actually, so did Puck's. I was going to incorporate more Judaism into the piece, but the combination of my muse and mid semester burn-out just weren't buying it. I may have to do a Jacob Ben Israel just to get that in. But, I hope this is still acceptable.
Rachel Berry: Control
Rachel Berry knows that she has what may be called an abrasive personality. But, its not entirely her fault. She lies awake at night, going over and over what will happen if she doesn't get A's in her classes, or a perfect 1600 on the SATs.
She wants to sing all the solos in Glee club. Not some of the solos, all of the solos. Sometimes, she wishes that she had a male version of herself, so that he could sing the solos. Jesse St. James came close, until he defected back to Vocal Adrenaline. She tells everyone that she loves the spotlight, and that someday, she wants to star on Broadway. Its not a lie, Rachel loves the stage more than anything. But, she wants to make sure that every solo is perfect, even more.
Rachel eats a precise vegan diet. She brings all her own food, carefully prepared. That way, no animal product of any kind will touch her lips or her body. When Glee costumes call for leather, she makes her dads drive her to Cincinnati so she can buy her special brand of organic, vegan pleather.
Rachel may or may not have scripted her first date (and her second and third) with Finn.
Its just that Rachel just likes to be in control. She believes in the order in the universe, and she does everything she can to maintain that order. Rachel may or may not have read So You Want to Be a Wizard when she was eight, and decided that she, like Nita, needed to fight entropy. Even though she was a precocious child, Rachel wasn't sure what entropy was exactly. She only knew that the best way to keep it in control was to maintain order.
So, room cleaning and vegetarianism turned into full blow veganism and control of every aspect. Rachel clings to the things in her life that let her maintain control. Because, if she can't maintain control, Rachel isn't sure she can continue.