Forget what your parents said. Essentially everything in life is "a game" if you think about it, it's just social convention that differentiates recreation from occupation.
If you are just looking to take an year off and chill out while playing poker for kicks, that's cool. On the other hand,I feel that playing poker professionally for just one year might not be the best investment of your time, especially if you're not going to keep playing after your year off.