You can do neither. Knowing that there's no inherent meaning to existence isn't for everyone. And I would argue that it's better to not be a nihilist at all than to be a pessimistic one.
Indeed, I do think the same. What I have trouble understanding, and even with close friends, is how "no inherent meaning to existence" seems to quickly become, in some cases, "no meaning to existence". I always tend to think this slide tends to exclude another possibility. A non-inherent meaning.