Congrats on getting your license and welcome.
Re what you wants/stats/experience, you’re almost exactly the same as me. I too love the old-school standard look.
Check out the Buell P3 Blast: 500cc, classic ’70s style sport-standard looks, a decent beginner bike that is super-easy to maintain and CHEAP used. That’s what I got, and 1000 miles later, I’d do it all over again if I had to. Plenty of power for a beginner, and they handle almost telepathically.
Only issues are it’ll be a little cramped for someone your height (but liveable, and no more than a 250 Ninja would be), and the bike is a little (hell, a lot) primitive compared to the competition (but you don’t keep these things forever…they’re just starters).
And I have to say, I too love the look of the 250 Nighthawks….retro and futuristic all at once. Wish Honda would make them in a 650 variant (and of course with disc brakes, not the drums the 250 has).