I (16f) do beauty pageants and I want to stop and have the money saved for college instead. My family is fighting over it.

I have done pageants since I was 9, and I know they get a bad reputation but there have been many things I like about them. They made me get over my fear of public speaking, and face my fear of embarrassing myself in front of people. I used to be very socially anxious and they did loads for my social skills and confidence. So when I have part time job interviews or school presentations now, I am very confident and comfortable.
I also enjoy the fashion side of it, fashion and makeup is a passion of mine. But recently I've been kind of fed up with how restrictive the pageants I do are about what is acceptable to wear; I'm more into experimental runway style stuff recently.
Anyway, this year my family has been taking a lot about college, about financing it specifically. My parents have a small college fund for me but it won't cover everything. I'll be applying for grants and scholarships and loans to cover a lot of it; and I'll be the one paying the loans back after graduation. Depending on where I study, how much my parents contribute, what kind of grants and scholarships I get, and what kind of loans I get... I could end up with a lot of debt. Debt scares me because I've seen some friends' families get really deep in that hole.
I want to get into a STEM field, I'm thinking I'm interested in Computer Science, so I hopefully will be able to pay them down, but still, debt stresses me out.
Recently, I've also been trying to learn about finances and budgeting and investing too, because in a few years I'll need to handle my own money. I already am doing that a little because I had a job this summer at a day camp.
And while learning about money, my parents have showed me a lot about how they budget, the tools and spreadsheets they use. About saving up for something over time, about investment and retirement savings. Basically every part of their budget.
And it was really surprising to see how much money was going towards pageants. Like I knew it was expensive, but putting it in comparison to the mortgage and car payments, to what tuition would cost... It really put things in proportion to me. Like, it's been a passion of mine, but is it really worth all that? The cost of dresses, hair, shoes, makeup, dance lessons, flights, hotels, pageant fees, tanning, etc. It was a lot, and it could make a huge dent in the cost of college.
So I told my parents that I wanted to stop pageants for my last two years of high school, and put all the money that was budgeted for them, towards a college fund.
I thought that would be a reasonable thing to ask for; it was money they wanted to spend on me anyway, and I think that asking for college money is like the most responsible thing I could do.
And it didn't go well.
My mom thinks I'm overreacting, giving up on something I love because I'm stressing about money even though I'm too young to really understand it.
My dad says they were happy to spend on my dream, and that we can make pageants and college work. But I know money doesn't grow in trees, you spend it on one thing and there's less for other things. That's just how it is.
My mom keeps talking about the pageant I was going to do this year, a new one I can do now that I'm 16, it's a big deal. And how it's something to bond over as a family; something we were all looking forward to. And how I should think more before giving it up.
My mom also told me that it's not my money, I can't just decide where it goes if I decide to not do pageants.
Is there any way I could convince them?
TLDR - I want to stop doing beauty pageants, and save the money for college. How do I convince my parents?


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