4 is the only number spelled with the same number of letters as its numerical value.

There is a peculiar thing about numbers really and how they transcend the boundaries of simple (and I emphasize this word for our shallow grasp of the subject stands testament to be assertion) Mathematics and as I've shown how three can make a big difference despite its minuscule numerical value, it is alas important to not 4get the significance of the succeeding number (does that make 4 the descendant of 3? which is ironic since 4>3)

4 is one of those perfect squares we identify with greatly. It gives off a notion of unity and being all-rounded. There is a subtle propensity for people to go out in groups of 4 (if we are looking at smaller groups of social intercourse). It makes perfect sense for people to move about in two pairs, given that everyone would have a conversation buddy at any point in time and even if all 4 were to engage in a consolidated conversation, it would be significantly less convoluted to both understand and offer one's input.

4 is the typical size of a family these day's consistent of 2 whole generations living under the same roof. It is a symbol of completion and of being whole, of having one parent of each sex and likewise, a boy and a girl child. It is perhaps not as serious a concept as a tradition, one that we would roll out on the table and make discourse over, but 4 has been subtly yet wholly ingrained within our mindsets. There is no explicit need for us to count out loud the number of people who are present but when 4 are present, there is an inexplicable sense of wholesomeness and perfection.

Perhaps, that might be reading too much into a simplistic concept as 4. But we have learned to manipulate 4 for modern uses if I might add. The occasional inclination to express our superiority in this age of digitization by using phrases such as '4eva' which ultimately serves a very cursory purpose, a perfunctory replacement for our expressing of eternity. And yet, it is quite interesting that 4 can be so easily used to substitute the prefix 'for-' in the English language and this gives it a whole myriad of nuances that we may hardly have payed any attention to previously.

4 has a notion of giving, as in 4give and to 4get. 4, albeit coming after 3, is nonetheless before 5, and it is too a substitute for the notion of 'before', as in 4cast, 4told and 4tune. 4titude looks much more pleasant than the original word; perhaps 4.I.R.E would make a nice replacement for the gaudy looking word that once symbolized warmth and guidance.

And still 4 has an alphabetical representation as the letter 'A', as 4reign as that might be, it is nonetheless 4wesome in its own intricate ways.

Fundamentally, 4 is a number that represents being whole in so many ways. As the letter 'A', which is now hailed as the only acceptable letter on one's progress reports and still more frightening than that, the ever imminent dawn of the '4' levels. Because if we were to spell out 4, as in 'four', it is really just taking 'u' and adding that to the bigger picture of 'for', of forgiving, forgetting and for now knowing that it is ultimately 'u' that completes the number. And 4 lets you know that you're never alone, for the next time you're on the verge of cussing 'fml', why not shout with the world and say '4lyfe'.

And no we're not being all optimistic and embracing positivism (if there's one thing you get from reading this blog, it's that life sucks and that's the only truth), because you just need to spell things out to put things into perspective.

4lyfe? fourlyfe? f-our-lyfe?

Now that's 4kin (to being) crazy.