Wherever you go in life, whether you’re traveling to a foreign country, moving to a quiet neighborhood, or visiting friends in the city, you are bound to encounter graffiti.

Graffiti is writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public place. Graffiti comes in a variety of different forms. Although graffiti is illegal, many people still do it even though they know the consequences of what could happen if they get caught. People who are caught doing graffiti can be arrested, prosecuted, fined and even sent to jail. So why do people do graffiti and what’s the point of it?  Some people do graffiti because they feel that their lives are a bit dull and boring without it. They need, no they crave that rush of adrenaline in their daily lives. Spray painting public walls out in the open with the chances that any second they could get caught by the cops make their heartbeat race fast.

Another reason as to why people do graffiti is because they’re marking their territory. Usually gangs or groups do this to warn other gangs or groups to stay out of the area. The last common reason is that graffiti is an outlet for many people’s artistic skills. Graffiti on open walls and buildings provide them an open canvas just waiting to be painted on. Plastering your own masterpiece onto an open wall, and having tons of people see it each day can be a big deal. These are a few of the many reasons as to why people do graffiti.

Now what’s the point of graffiti you’re wondering? I honestly don’t think there is one exact answer to this question. The purpose of graffiti can be to tell a story; it can be to tell you about a specific moment in time where everything either went bad or good; it can be to tell you about people, politics, culture, art, places and society in general; it can be to express yourself anonymously, it can also be just another act of vandalism. The act of graffiti is usually spontaneous. Although some acts of graffiti are planned, more often than not graffiti is spontaneous. Graffiti you see on the walls of bathroom stalls, or on the side of rundown buildings can purely be an act on the spot. So the purpose of those graffiti can be totally different. In the end, there is no specific point to why people should graffiti their surroundings, however, on school property its vandalism.