For decades people have thought of graffiti as just vandalism, but this is untrue. Although graffiti is often done on private property and is sometimes illegal, historically graffiti has been used as a form of protest and to spread important messages and emotions. Whether it is tags, urban art, or murals, artists have been able to express themselves uniquely in public places. 

When people think of “art” they think of paintings and sculptures, yet it is much more than that. Graffiti is a very stylized form of art from thick bubbly letters to bright vibrant colors that are visually appealing to many people, including me. 

Some places have already started to embrace graffiti, one of these places being the City of Athens where graffiti is technically legal. When cities embrace and recognize graffiti as a form of art and let artists do their own thing, beautiful pieces can be made. Cities like Athens also attract many tourists which can also help boost their economy. 

People need to start respecting graffiti artists even if they do not completely understand or agree with the ethics of it.  Like all other forms of art, graffiti takes a huge amount of skill, time, and dedication, from artists covering entire walls with detailed and colorful murals to people climbing difficult-to-reach places, like a highrise, just to tag it. These things require talent and expertise that the average person does not have but are people just going to reduce all of that to vandalism and delinquency?