Contemplating myself about dropping physics major...

Hello, I am pursuing physics BS as a freshman but really it is not actual major since my college does not declare major before junior year so I am like 'pre-major.' Anyway, here is my story...

To be honest, I did not like physics at all from the first place. I loved astronomy though. All those mesmerizing stuffs about the Solar System, the expansion of the Universe, star formation, galaxies, etc. just surprised me and they were all so beautiful to me. I loved these topics from when I was in kindergarten and I thought “I’m gonna be an astronomer when I grow up!” Now I am a 19-year-old boy studying college, wandering around.

I really liked reading, learning, and talking about astronomy. However, as I knew more and more about astronomy, I realized astronomy is pretty much nothing without physics. Whenever I read some astronomy books, the books would whisper “Dude, you need to be friends with physics in order for you to be friends with me.” So I just read some books about physics and learned physics. Now I know how to do some basic physics. It is impossible to do physics without mathematics. So I also learned mathematics and I know how to do some basic math as well (Calculus, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations).

There were no ‘astrophysics’ or ‘astronomy’ majors in my college so I just decided to become a physics major. I am taking Classical Mechanics I and Classical Mechanics I Lab right now as required courses for Physics BS. However, those physics is different from what I’ve done so far. It is much more delicate and difficult. But I am getting average grade in Classical Mechanics I somehow (I am getting failing grade in Classical Mechanics I Lab though.) and I feel like I am not doing well as a physics student. I also feel like I do not have ‘fun’ while I am solving for problem sets or writing lab report. They take a lot of effort and time and it would be ideal if I felt, even the slightest, that I was having fun while doing them but really, no. I am not having fun. I guess I learned how ‘Learning Physics’ and ‘Doing Physics’ are two different things.

I wanted to be a professor. You need to go to a good grad school to be a professor, right? In order to do so, you need good grades in physics classes and have a good understandings on the topics but I feel like I am not. I feel like I am studying physics just because it is a ‘stepping stone’ towards astronomy/astrophysics and I actually don’t enjoy physics but I am just doing it just for the sake of astronomy.

I will have to study as a student for more than 10 years, given that I will go to a grad school. Would this be worth it? I will start earning money later than my peers who do not end up in grad school and I am not sure if I would enjoy that. I am not sure if this is the thing that I would love SO MUCH to do to the point where I can endure that. Do I want a job right after I graduate college? Or do I want to research and be a professor? Just with a Physics BS, you cannot really get any significant job; a lot of Physics BS students go ahead to grad school to pursue a PhD.

And then I just ask to myself one more time… “Do you still love astronomy?” Then somewhere deep down in my heart, one small response comes back… “Uh... Yes.” I ask again, "Do you love enough to just do this instead of getting a job after college?" Then no response comes back.

Some of you guys might think I am dumb. Because astronomy is pretty much a subset of physics. A lot of stuff that I learn as a physics major (Quantum Mechanics, Electromagnetism, Classical Mechanics, Relativity, etc.) will be used holistically in astrophysics and I say I don’t like Classical Mechanics? What an idiot!

I asked to my professors, my peers, my advisor, my parents, anyone who I can ask pretty much, this question: “Should I remain in physics or just drop my major right away?” after talking about some of the stuff that I talked about right now. Then some people would say “It seems like you are clearly not enjoying this, so why don’t just drop it?” and on the other hand, some people would say “But this is just a beginning. Continue for maybe a semester or two and decide if you like it or not.” Both sides have good point and I am not sure which side I should listen to.

I am actually a bit afraid to just drop my major right away since astronomy is a dream that I’ve had for a long time and it consists of a big part of my life. This conundrum is truly giving me hard times these days and I am fighting with myself these days a lot.

Any insights or pieces of advice will be helpful. Thanks for reading this long text...