word of the day

while i was researching post-modernist art for my art history exam, i came across a new term: nihilism. defined by my dictionary widget on my macbook, nihilism is the rejection of all religious and moral principles, often in the belief that life is meaningless. the Philosophy: extreme skepticism maintaining  that nothing in the world has a real existence. WHAT?! are they seriously saying that there are people in this world who basically believe that all of what we call life is pointless? that there is no meaning to any of it? we are just inconsequential beings passing through time? i just wonder if this means they also do not believe in any form of god, well it must i suppose because those who believe in some form of god find meaning in that belief. but how does one come to such a conclusion? for them to establish this belief is to realize that nothing that has ever happened to them, none of the memories they have, mean anything. maybe i am in such a disbelief because my philosophy is that EVERYTHING has its meaning and purpose, but quite honestly i think to believe that there is absolutely no point to this life is just a little bit depressing. now i am not saying that there is one big reason why we are here, or that we are living to fulfill some sort of purpose, because i do think that meaning in life is found from within, it is only something that the individual themselves can discover and it is unique to them. there is such a vast web of things (for a lack of a better word) that link with our lives and we have tied meaning to them, or their meaning impacts us on a subconscious level. love, friendship, family, laughter, memories, heartbreak, death, birth, happiness are all things that are linked to us, that nihilists claim have no meaning, that they are all pointless. i am not usually one to challenge or even question someone's belief or religion because i accept that we are all different and there is no possible way we can all think the same way, but i cannot see how any of the things listed above can be meaningless; i cannot accept that i am here for no reason, and i will not remove meaning from all that surrounds me.