Which physics courses have you taken so far to make you so certain that physics is the area you wish to pursue? If you are only in your first year of engineering, you're likely still taking the same courses as Physics majors, mainly the calculus sequences, chemistry, first sequence in calculus-based physics.
From your post, it appears you have interest in modern physics topics, which is usually a 3rd or 4th course in physics. There shouldn't be any time pressure until the end of your 2nd year, which you should still be able to comfortably switch over to Physics if you end up enjoying that side more. You'll move onto higher level Electricity & Magnetism, a more thorough course of Modern Physics, some Quantum Mechanics, Statistical Mechanics.
Another route is checking out the electronics engineering department at your school. Perhaps they have a specialization in microelectronic circuits/processing or solid state electronics? Solid State Electronics applies knowledge in quantum mechanics, which might be of interest to you.
Of course there's the question of whether you want to be a scientist or an engineer. Just don't forget that they're not exclusive fields: an engineer might also stumble upon some new natural phenomenon while manipulating things, and consequently overlaps with some science. Likewise, as a scientist, in particular an experimentalist type, you might end up designing cool things and end up applying some engineering concepts.
You're in your 1st year; you still have time. In any case, the decision is yours to make, and shouldn't be your parents.
Just imagine the chaos if nobody chose the path they were interested in (and consequently the path they're more likely to excel at), and just chose a path that others dictated...the quality of this world would certainly be at stake.
