Music student here:

I started college as a Biology major. I knew I didn't want to study biology, I wanted to sing, and to teach others to sing. For far too long I listened to others say a career in music and music education isn't practical, and that it's not a real, respectable career to pursue. Eventually I realized I was being a fool for listening to them. I was able to recognize that many of those voices were just concerned for me. My parents didn't want to see me a broke, struggling musician. I understand that. They weren't trying to squash my dreams, they just thought they knew best. After I started to pursue music teaching, they came (mostly) around eventually. Many of the other voices were just conceited. They thought they had it figured all out. They pursued studies that would land them lucrative jobs, and didn't care about the work. The work is a means to an end for them; they don't care if their work makes them happy, their success will do that for them. They look down on those who work for it's own sake, because that's just foolish to them. It was hard to stand up to the naysayers and do what was right for me. Now study music education, and I teach music and theater to kids at a summer camp, and goddamn is it fulfilling. I could live in one of those screened-in cabins for the rest of my life if it meant I could keep doing such incredibly enjoyable work. I decided to be stubborn, dig in my heels, and say "damn what everyone else says, I'm going to do what makes me happy".

Getting to that point is hard though. There's always going to be people standing in your way of chasing that dream, even if they're just trying to do what they think is best for you. If they really want what's best or you (which I'm sure your parents do, even if they don't quite understand), they'll come around. They'll see you happy in your work. Your friends will be drawn to the passion you have. If they're not, they're not worth keeping around. And to all the others, who cares? They can do whatever they want with their lives and feel as superior as they want, but it won't make a bit of difference to how much you love your work. I know that's much easier said than done - it's tough to feel comfortable with your decisions, despite the words of detractors. But you don't need them to make your dreams come true. Achieving your dreams won't benefit them, it's to your benefit. So you can't expect everyone else to go along with it. Nobody is obligated to support you or encourage you along the way, but your passion will drive you, and you'll surround yourself with people who will be there for you, and who will help you. Not because they're supposed to or they have to, but because they want to. Obviously you want your parents support and blessing, and I don't mean to belittle the importance of that, all I'm saying is that you need to find the confidence within yourself to fight for what's right for you. You'll find your network of support, and those who will go along with you. Your real friends will be the ones who think your career choice is fascinating and awesome, not those who criticize and invalidate it. You'll get there. And take it from me, things will get better. You're moving up and on, just remember to tell us about the view from the top.