First things first, welcome to the forum, and welcome to the shooting community. My first suggestion is for you to make a day out of shopping. Handle a whole bunch of guns, try them out just by holding them in the store, and aiming it at something in the store ( preferably up high so others don't get nervous). If it feels ok then lower the gun, close your eyes and try to aim back at that same point with your eyes closed. Open your eyes and see how much you have to adjust to line the sights back up. If it's a small amount then the gun is a natural fit for you, and you will probably shoot it well.
One big thing I will caution you about is buying a small gun. Many of the small guns are very light which may feel good in the store, but will not feel good at the range. Think of it in terms of an auto accident. If your in a great big Lincoln or Cadillac and you are sitting still, and get hit from behind, it may jostle you around, but it probably won't hurt you. If your in a tiny car like a Yaris or Versa then that same car rear ending you is going to push your small car around and do more damage. Just like getting beat around in that tiny lightweight car, a lightweight gun moves around more under recoil, and in a standard caliber like 9mm or 38 spl it may be more than your wrists can take. If you go with a standard weight gun then the weight of the gun will help absorb part of that recoil and it will be much more pleasant to shoot, especially if you intend to shoot more than a dozen or so rounds each time you go to the range.
Another thing I will caution you about is buying a "pretty" gun. Since you are new to the sport you may find that your pretty new gun is not exactly what you want and you want to get something else. Standard colors sell fairly well to most buyers. A pink, or purple gun sells to a much more limited market.
Finally, I get to this...A 22lr pistol or revolver is a good way to learn to shoot. It is low recoil, cheap to shoot, fun, and builds skills quickly. I recommend going this route unless you are absolutely certain you want a bigger cartridge. If you do go the 22lr route, there are good offerings in the market by essentially everyone in the semiautomatic pistol world, but fewer options in the revolver world. A really good option in a revolver would be either of the small offerings from Ruger. A sp101 22 will not be cheap but it will last forever and be a great gun. The LCR 22 is a great gun if you want to eventually carry a gun for protection. It is much lighter than the sp101 and is very pleasant to shoot. A third option from Ruger would be a bearcat. They are small single action guns (cowboy style) which are a lot of fun, but don't lend themselves to being much in the line of a trainer for anything larger. Last but not least Ruger has the SR22 which is a semiauto, but it is light enough without being too light and is another good value in the current market. Again, handle everything and pick one that feels good.
