Be very careful growing with roommates. Young people are always having falling outs with each other. It doesn't take much for a former friend/roommate to turn on you and call the cops. Texas is not a place you want to get caught growing MJ.
If you are going to grow quality cannabis, you need to flower under an HID (250w HPS MINIMUM, 400w+ HPS recommended). You can start seeds/clone AND veg under a HO T5, but flower under an HID if you want buds you can be proud of.
If you are starting from seed, I highly recommend feminized seeds from greenhouse seed company. Feminized seeds will save you months of time sexing. Greenhouse's feminized seeds are the only feminized seeds I would recommend because they make them by removing male dna from the genetics rather than stressing females into producing seeds.
I have had good success buying seeds from both the attitude seedbank and seed boutique. Both of these seedbanks give descriptions of the strains and specify whether it is beginner friendly or not. In general, I would advise you to stay away from Sativa dominant strains and White strains (white rhino/white widow etc.) for your first grow as they are much more sensitive to nutrient uptake and ph levels and can be tricky to dial in.
GROW AWARE and good luck.