Is KickBoxing and Karate almost the same?

I really want to do kickboxing, but my mom and dad want me to do karate. My brother wants me to basketball, (just because I'm tall,) and my sister wants me to do track. This is what they want to do, not me! Nobody takes me seriously in my family. I feel like I'm a puppet who can never make it's own decisions. (being the youngest in the fam, that's usually what happens.) I'm telling them kickboxing and karate is almost the same thing, but obviously they don't care. I'm just a joke to them. I want to know, is kickboxing and karate the same?