<human>: My girlfriend and I are juniors at the same university, but after senior year we have plans for our professional lives that will definitely require us to be in separate parts of the world for who knows how long. We both agree that there isn't a realistic way for us to stay together if we are to focus on our other life goals, as we are trying to be as logical about this as possible.

It may seem silly to be worrying about this so early, but time has really been flying since we started dating, and considering how well things have gone between us so far, I don't foresee any reason that we would separate between now and then anyway.

I have been of the opinion that we could just put this conversation off for a while longer because ignoring it has kept us happy, but she recently said she has been thinking about it a lot lately. She thinks it would be easier for both of us if we started being less intimate and coupley now so that by the time we have to go our separate ways, we will not be as close anymore, and it will be less painful.

This is my first serious, long-term relationship, so I'm not sure how I would respond to either, but in anyone else's experiences, is this a smart way to go about things? Will it actually be less painful to plan ahead like this? Is it unfair to her to want to just be happy, say, at least for the rest of this year, and not worry about it until later?

Give me a shortened version of the text
<bot>: Is it better to put off an inevitable break-up until the last minute? Or to prepare for it by slowly drifting apart from one another?