@squ1rrel , this is a bridge to cross later. You are just finishing your first year of high school.
You now know that you can go through the admissions process, right up to accepting a spot at a school, while maintaining your gap year option.
Three years from now, you may feel like you want a gap year. You may even want to go to China for it. Many schools encourage gap years to the point of sending gap year information with the admissions package (and a few offering their own!) Students who choose this often feel refreshed, after being burnt out from high school. For many, it gets them out of the “excellent sheep” syndrome by allowing the to see and experience success and happiness without out-competing their classmates. Lots of students do gap years, btw.
For now, listen to your parents’ ideas. Hear what it is they want for you and why. (I don’t think their idea is terrible, btw, but it’s a personal choice.)
Think about what you want for yourself. There may be workable options here for all of you (including spending summer(s) abroad. But now is not the time to make a decision or fight about it.