[stcredzero]

I’m baffled as to why nihilism is equated with hopelessness or “asshole-ism” when I speak to others about it. I (almost jokingly) call myself a nihilist because I truly believe my life has no meaning. I am but one organism in a giant soup of beautiful organisms.

You're baffled because you're a happy nihilist, as opposed to a bitter, resentful one.