What is the meaning of life for an atheist?

A common mistake that people make about atheists is that we have no meaning in our lives because we do not believe in a god. Also, there are some atheists that outright say that life has no actual meaning. I would say that the life of all people has some meaning, whether they admit to it or not. Meaning is created by conscious creatures, it does not exist objectively, but it does exist subjectively. For example, the Declaration of Independence is really just a piece of hemp paper. What makes the Declaration of Independence have value is the meaning we assign to it. Would anyone actually claim that the Declaration of Independence is meaningless? If so, they shouldn't be taken seriously, but that is neither here nor there.

The point here is that the atheist life does have meaning. In fact, I would go so far as to claim that an atheist life is capable of being more meaningful than the life of a theist. A theist believes that humans are mere pawns in a chess match between good and evil. What kind of meaning is that? That humans are essentially entertainment for a god? I believe an atheist worldview can be more meaningful because it is not limited. If we look at the worldviews of the different types of theists, they all seem to attempt to reduce life's meaningfulness. For example, Christians believe they are born as wretched sinners, and are destined for hell unless they lower their life's meaningfulness to the point of being a mere tool for God. Either way, the meaning of life is what we make it. If an atheist claims that life has no meaning, ask him/her what motivates them to live? There you will have an answer. Most people claim that the meaning of life is to be happy, and this I believe gets at the heart of the true meaning of life.