: These two ideas - nihilism and existentialism - seem somewhat at odds with each other, at least from what I've about them philosophically (little). Nihilism (I assume you want to express existential

@Kristi637

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These two ideas - nihilism and existentialism - seem somewhat at odds with each other, at least from what I've about them philosophically (little). Nihilism (I assume you want to express existential nihilism but the other kinds are interesting as well) is a mode of thought which asserts that there is no inherent meaning to life, and further that trying to search for or create that meaning is also meaningless and futile. Existentialism agrees that there is no inherent meaning to life, but says that it is the responsibility of the individual person to be authentic and strive to create it.

I'm sure there's a million ways to approach this scene of the woman looking out at the street but here's a few ideas that popped into my head while reading your question:

Something might happen on the street that your character sees yet does not perceive as meaningful. She might witness a car crash, but do nothing to help or identify the vehicle she saw - why would she, if morals aren't real?
She might compare the people on the street and their actions to something an adult woman might find meaningless -- such as a children's game, maybe one that used to be her favorite as a child, one that she once would have cried if she lost and fought her siblings to win, but now seems pretty silly.
She might see, if she comes to this coffee shop frequently, the same man get off the bus as he does every day, and note that he never really looks any happier or more successful, just older.
Maybe if existentialist, she admires the people trying to each live their own meaningful lives despite the blanket of gray clouds trying to suffocate the city.
She might note how there are thousands of people passing on the street, but even though they are only feet apart and share commonalities like the same city, maybe the same job, the same commute, not one stops to share the morning with any other - they're all too focused on getting where they need to go, being on their phones, reading the paper, etc.

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